Blinded (On Hiatus)
by dbswldnjs
Summary: "I don't understand why Sasuke's suddenly treating me so coldly. This feels wrong but, I think I'm starting to like Gaara more than my own boyfriend." - "I've grown quite fond of this girl, and I don't know why. Maybe I should have killed her back then.. but now, it's too late. I can't bring myself to do it." - GaaraxOC, rated "M" for safety purposes. (Being re-written and edited)
1. Chapter 1: Mayu Nakamura

_ Inside of a closet, a five-year old girl hid, crying and terrified._  
_ A group of rogue ninja's from many unknown and forgotten clans had invaded her clan's mansion. One by one, they slaughtered everybody mercilessly._  
_The little girl saw every single moment of it, from a small crack in the closet door._  
_ Hours after the slaughter began, the house fell silent and no movement could be heard. _  
_Quietly, and carefully she opened the door, and stepped out into the vast empty mansion._  
_Bodies lay scattered about the floor, dismembered, bleeding, and lifeless. _  
_ Warm tears streamed down her face as she began to run through the house, towards the main entry way._  
_Towards safety._  
_ A big arm reached out and grabbed onto her, stopping her in her tracks!_  
_She turned with a scream to come face to face with the leader of the rogue ninja's. She can not remember his face, but what she did remember was the sound of deep, laughter coming from behind him._  
_ Scared she began to hit him, kick him, bite him, anything to get him to release her and let her live. After a few moments she realized, that her efforts were in vain for he was too big and too strong._  
_ When she looked up into his eyes, she could see they were clouded with sadness and pity._  
_"Rip her head off boss!" sneered somebody behind him. "Yeah, hurry up so we can leave already." said another._  
_ The leader shook his head. "She's only a child. Everybody else in this house had already reached adulthood, or close to it anyways." he explained, not taking his eyes off of hers._  
_ "Well then do something already, she's already seen us she'll rat us out and get us caught if we let her leave here alive!" a voice different from the others piped in._  
_ "Please... please don't.. d-don't kill me. I won't tell anyone I promise." the little girl stammered, fresh tears began to pour from her eyes._  
_ The leader sighed, and pulled out a kunai. The little girl's eyes widened._  
_ "I won't kill you.." he promised, but there was going to be a catch. "However... I can not let just leave you alone like this, with what you just saw."_  
_he explained, raising his kunai. "I am sorry little one." he said, as he swiftly lowered his Kunai towards the little girl's screaming face._

"Mayu? Mayu..?" a voice called, snapping me from my thoughts, my.. memories.  
I knew that voice all too well, it was the voice of my best friend Sakura Haruno,  
"Mayu are you okay? We have to go, Kakashi sensei has big news!" she chirped from her spot beside me on the bench. I nodded my head.  
"Alright, let's go." I said, standing up. I heard Sakura stand up beside me, and I extended my left arm, feeling around for her. A second later, her hand met mine and she guided it towards her arm, which she had extended out for me to grab. I smiled, linking arms with her, as we set out towards the training grounds.  
It was quite a walk from where we were sitting, which was the bench by the forest near the outskirts of town. I know this because while Sakura and I were sitting there together, chatting among ourselves, I could hear the wind blowing through the trees. I heard the sound of branches scraping against other branches, the sound of leaves rustling together like pom-poms and the crackling of branches nearby told me that an animal, perhaps a squirrel, was running along the ground and through the trees. This was the only place in Konoha that sounded like this.  
Sakura and I walked along together, talking casually about the weather, Naruto and then about this 'big news' Kakashi-sensei had for Squad 7. I was hoping it was something big and exciting.

No I am not a ninja. Even with my blindness, I could still very well become a ninja, relying on only my keen chakra sense and my enhanced hearing ability. However, due to yet another unfortunate childhood injury to my right leg I can not become a ninja.  
When I was six, I was playing on the roof of one of the apartment complexes by myself. I wasn't paying careful attention to where I was going and I slipped off of the roof and broke my leg. My leg was broken in such a way that it never healed properly, thus causing me to walk with a permanent limp. It doesn't hurt, only when I try to run or when I walk too far for too long. But because the life of a ninja is so dangerous, a ninja who can't run is a casualty just waiting to happen.  
I'm just a very fragile 15-year-old girl.

Once again being lost in my memories, I didn't notice where we were going or how far we had even walked. The sound of loud chatter as people rushed from shop to shop and the alluring smell of ramen and freshly baked rice cakes was replaced by the sound of wind blowing through trees and the smell of flowers and grass.  
"Where are we?" I asked, Sakura didn't reply, but I could feel as our feet left the dirt path and landed on soft grass meaning that we were now in the vacant field outside of town. The training grounds.  
Suddenly Sakura groaned beside me, and it was then that I heard the yelling in the distance.  
"I am going to crush you!" A boy yelled. "Pfft, Naruto you couldn't even crush a ladybug. You're such a loser." replied another.  
"ARRGH That's it Sasuke! You're dead." Naruto yelled, angrier than before. I heard Sakura growl. I just laughed.  
"Now now boys, save the killing for later." came the lazy voice of Squad 7's sensei, Kakashi Hatake. Sakura took my hand, and lead me towards where the yelling was coming from. I could tell we were getting closer, because their shouts became louder and louder with each step.  
"Sasuke, one of these days I am going to kick your ass, and when I do you're going to be so surprised, and so embarrassed you'll quit being a ninja and then I, Naruto Uzumaki, will become the best in Konoha!" Naruto boasted from my left. "Naruto, I swear, if you ever beat me in a match I will run from Konoha to Suna naked." Sasuke retorted calmly from my right. "You shouldn't make bets you might regret Sasuke." I said with a sigh.  
"Yeah really, you guys are so immature." Sakura sneered.  
These three were my best friends ever.

My clan, the Nakamura clan, has been a very quiet and isolated clan since.. well forever. Our mansion was located in the center of the forest outside of Konoha, so nobody really visited us. Which is also why nobody heard our screams and came to help on the day that everybody died.  
Because we were so far away and isolated, I had no friends beside my cousins. After the Nakamura Massacre, the Hokage decided it was best for me to move in with somebody else, seeing as I can't possibly live alone with my blindness. I stayed with Kurenai for a few weeks until I met Naruto.  
I could hear him crying close to me, when I went on a blind expedition through Konoha. I followed the sounds of his sobs to a nearby swing, where we sat together and talked. We became best friends since then. He's actually more like a brother, with him being so protective and reliable towards me. We moved in together a month after we met!  
I met Sasuke when I was six. I was playing in the woods and I followed the sounds of somebody training. It was there that I ran into Sasuke, literally. He had stopped his yelling and grunting so I lost my lead and ended up bumping into him by mistake. I fell backwards into the river, and he helped me out. That day we just sat on the rocks by the rivers edge and talked and talked and talked for hours until it was time for me to leave. We met each other there everyday and talked until night came. We kept this up for six months until Sasuke asked me to be his girlfriend.  
Sasuke and I have dated for 8 years, and they have been the happiest 8 years of my life.  
Finally, there's Sakura. When we met, she hated me guts. She did whatever she could to make me miserable; she would cut my hair, splash me with mud, push me over, spin me around so I got disoriented and lost, she even snuck into my house one day and moved all of my stuff around so I couldn't find anything. It was bad..  
We became friends when I defended her from Ino and her malicious taunts.  
The reason Sakura hated me so much before we became friends was because she wanted Sasuke. Eventually she got over her obsession with him and moved on to stalking some poor guy named Daisuke.

I heard Kakashi chuckle from somewhere to my right. "What a team I ended up with." he said with no emotion at all. The sound of turning pages meant he was reading his pervert book again. "So, what's this big news Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked. "Yeah, why did you call us here?" Sakura echoed.  
I let go of Sakura's hand and slowly sat myself down. Sakura and I had walked all day and my leg was starting to hurt. I heard the shuffling of grass coming closer to me, and felt somebody sit down beside me. Smiling I knew who it was and laid my head on his shoulder. Sasuke put his arm around my waist and rested his head on mine.  
Kakashi cleared his throat, signaling that he was going to either say something important or be dramatic. "The Chunin Exams are being held in one month." he began, a chorus of gasps was heard from all around me. "I have signed you all up. That is all." he finished, before turning another page in his book.  
"What?! The Chunin exams!? That's huuuuuuge!" Naruto yelled. I could hear the sound of rustling clothes and fast wind so I assumed he was waving his arms around like a lunatic. A smack and a "OW!" was then heard followed by another smack, a gasp and then a large explosion. This time I couldn't quite picture the scenario in my head.  
"Sasuke, what just happened?" I whispered. He chuckled. "Sakura went over and smacked Naruto for being a loud obnoxious loser. Naruto went to hit her back but missed and hit Kakashi who punched Naruto into a nearby tree. Let's just say that at least 10 trees in the forest now have a hole in the shape of Naruto's loser body in them." he explained, the tone of his voice let me know that he found this whole thing amusing. I just shook my head.  
"Naruto's gonna be the first one eliminated I swear." Sakura commented, trying to sound all tough and cool. But she failed as usual.  
I really hated it when people picked on Naruto, especially Sasuke, he really was a great ninja. He just needed more people to believe in him.  
Sasuke reached over and began playing with me hair.

Being blind, I don't know what any of my friends look like. The only people I can remember seeing are my family..  
I try my hardest to picture everybody in my head but, It's just so difficult. I don't even know what I look like.  
I know that I'm about, 5'1 in height, and that I weigh 105lbs. I know my hair is slightly wavy and dark brown, but that's all that I _know_.  
Sakura cuts my hair for me, and describes my hairstyle as "a shoulder-length choppy haircut, with side-sweep bangs parted to the right." I'm not quite sure what that means..  
My outfit today, as described by Naruto, is a white thin-strapped dress that falls just above my knees with a lace trim at the bottom. Overtop I have a maroon coloured long-sleeved sweater, that is just as long as my dress and ties crossed my chest with a red bow.  
Everybody in the village comments on how pale my skin tone is.  
Some people say that my eyes are colourless, while others tell me that they're a very very pale light-blue. I'm surprised my eyes even have colour, after all I was stabbed in the eyes by Kunai, I had always pictured my sockets empty or mangled.  
I've also made it a habit to pat-down people to try and get a feel for what they might look like.  
Sasuke told me he has dark blue almost-black hair, and black eyes. His hair feels spiked in the back, but long in the front.  
Sakura's hair is pink and her eyes are green, her hair feels like it's very long and that her bangs might be parted in the middle.  
Naruto's blonde with blue eyes, and his hair is very messy and spiked. I hate touching his hair because he doesn't brush it.  
I once made Kakashi bend over so I could pat him down too, his hair-cut is probably the weirdest thing I've ever touched.. It's very spiked and is styled to the side, almost like he stood outside with wet hair in a windstorm and his hair dried like that..  
I wish I could see...

"Naruto's back." Sasuke narrated. I nodded, sometimes when I couldn't hear things people had to describe them to me.  
"Seeing as the Chunin exams are being hosted in Konoha this year, ninja teams from every village will be arriving as either participants of spectators. So I want you three to be on your best behaviour, that means no random challenges and boasting Naruto. Also, try not to anger them... they can be rather, violent." Kakashi explained.  
"Alright believe it! I'm gonna become a Chunin, then I'll be one stop closer to becoming Hokage believe it!" Naruto began to chant. "Mayu, you have to come see me win. Or I mean.." he stopped himself from saying anything further. I'm used to people forgetting that I'm blind and accidentally saying things like "Watch this!" or "Did you see that?" to me.  
"It's alright Naruto, keep going." I assured him. "Hehe.. right.. well um, what was I saying?" he asked.  
"Idiot.." Sasuke muttered beside me.  
"Hey what was that you jerk? Oh nevermind I remember now! You have to come, uh, listen to me in the Chunin exams! You can hear the screams and shouts of all the ninja's I beat with my awesome skills." Naruto finished. "You know I will." I said with a laugh.  
"Oh and Mayu, be careful these days. Don't go anywhere alone. I don't want any foreign ninja harming you in anyway." Naruto said seriously. I frowned, but shrugged it off and just nodded in agreement anyways. I wasn't sure if I was even looking at him, but I was facing where his voice and chakra was coming from so I assumed I was facing his general vicinity.  
"Right well, we should begin some training exercises. Naruto and Sakura will face off, the winner faces Sasuke, then the winner will face me." Kakashi said. "Before that though, Sasuke you should take Mayu home. She looks tired."  
I felt Sasuke stand up beside me, and I reached up to feel for his hand. Soon his hand met mine and he helped me stand up. Linking arms we walked away together, the sounds of Sakura and Naruto yelling at each other again faded into the distance.

As soon as the sounds of rustling leaves and crackling branches was drowned out by the sounds of murmurs and busy streets, I knew we were out of the forest.  
"So, the Chunin exams huh?" I asked, trying to start a conversation. "Yeah..." was all he said. I frowned, he was always like this. Friendly and open towards me one minute and the next, cold and distant. I swear Sasuke's bipolar..  
After a few more moments of silence, I heard him exhale deeply, meaning he was deep in thought. It was a habit of his I grew accustomed to,  
"I'm gonna try my hardest to win, I must become a Chunin." he said. "Even though I'll be busy training, I'll still have time for you so don't worry." he said, kissing me on the cheek. Judging by the shape of his mouth when he kissed me, he was smiling. I smiled back,  
"I's alright Sasuke I'll understand if you're busy. But you have to promise you'll atleast try to see me." I said. "I promise. Don't worry you're still my number one priority" he replied with a chuckle.  
Even though he says this, part of me knows It's not entirely true. Everybody knows his number one priority is revenge against his brother. I think I'm more like his, second priority in life.  
He suddenly stopped and wrapped his arms around me. I nuzzled into his neck, admiring the way his clothes smelled. Like the outdoors, fresh and natural.  
I could head wind chimes from beside and above me, meaning we were outside of mine and Naruto's apartment. I ordered custom-made wind chimes from the Mist village and hung them at the bottom and top of our steps so I would know when I was close to home. Seeing as they were "foreign wind chimes." no other place in Konoha has wind chimes that sound like ours do, making it easier for me to tell when I was home.  
"It's getting late, you should head in and get some sleep." Sasuke began, pulling away a bit but still keeping his arms around my waist. "I'm gonna head back and train a bit with the rest of Squad 7, and then talk to everyone about the Chunin Exams some more." Sasuke said. I frowned. "But I'm bored.." I protested. "Can't I go find somebody to hang out with?" I heard Sasuke growl under his breath.  
"Mayu.. you know how I worry about you-" "I'll be fine!" I cut him off. "Please~" I pleaded. I could hear him sigh, meaning I had won the battle. He usually didn't give up this easy, but this time he was in a hurry so won easier than usual.  
"Fine... I'll come find you later and walk you home. Try not to get into trouble.. Don't go off alone," he told me. I rolled my eyes playfully. "Yes sir."  
I laughed and leaned in for a kiss, and soon my lips met his. I loved kissing Sasuke. He was so good at it, and even though we've kissed for 5 years, I still get all giddy when we kiss.  
It took him three years to kiss me. We shared our first kiss on my tenth birthday.  
After a few minutes we parted and went our separate ways. Sasuke towards his squad and me for a walk. I couldn't tell him that I was going for a walk of course, he would have had a fit. I can handle things fine by myself, he just won't accept that. Neither can Naruto. Nobody can really...  
I'm blind and have a bad leg, that doesn't mean that I'm completely incapable of doing things on my own. I've tried to tell them that but they won't listen. Naruto is so protective of me and Sasuke worries too much and because of this I'm always lying to them and sneaking off on my own. Does it make me feel bad? Of course it does but what choice do I have.. Maybe when I'm older they'll stop smothering me so much.

The smell of pine and flowers soon filled my nose as I entered the forest, I was going home for a visit, I just wondered how things sounded there after all these years.


	2. Chapter 2: The Mansion

My long walk through the woods was relaxing. I felt a bug land on my arm at one point, I'm not sure which one it was though. My guess was, a butterfly or a dragonfly. I smiled, stopping in my tracks taking in a deep breath. The smell of the forest relaxed me.  
My clan was always isolated from the rest of Konoha. Only the servants or maids were allowed to go into town, for food or other necessities only though. I forgot the reason for my clan being so antisocial long ago, but I'm sure it was important.  
Because I was confined to my mansion and the surrounding woods, I grew to love the woods and everything in it. I guess that's why I feel so comfortable outdoors.  
My clan's mansion is located in the very center of the woods, and there's no paths that lead to it directly. I know the way though, because I used a Kunai to make certain marks on the trees so I know which way to go. If I feel a tree trunk that has no mark on it, I know I'm going the wrong way. I've been here so many times that I pretty much know the way like the back of my hand, even with my blindness.  
I used to visit my old home once or twice a month starting when I was 12. That is, until Naruto and Sasuke teamed up and tracked me down. They both spend hours lecturing me on "the dangers of venturing through the woods while being blind." Ever since then I've only managed to sneak away once or twice without being caught, and once with being caught.  
I let out a happy sigh, and continued my walk down the path, keeping my right arm outstretched so that I could feel the marks on the trees, the bug still danced on my arm. About twenty trees up, I felt the mark. The carving of a star in the tree trunk. Smiling to myself, I stepped off the path and into the long grass.

The grass in the woods was up past my knees and tickled me as I walked through it, groping the trees for the familiar carvings. The star-shaped cuts in the trunks continued in a straight line for about, 12-13 trees before drifting to the left. But I knew this, and followed the unmarked path through the forest. About 9 cut-up trunks later, I ran out of tree and ended up in a large clearing. The grass was still long, because nobody bothered to cut the grass around the Nakamura mansion anymore.  
Trudging through the waist-high grass I stretched out my arms and began to feel for my surroundings, not wanting to run face-first into anything that could hurt me and cause panic from my boyfriend and bestfriend. I walked forward about a kilometer before hitting something solid. Flattening out my palm along the wood, I felt around for the star I had cut into the side of my old home. Finding it, I smiled in relief. I was home..  
I found the front door with no problem, and slowly opened it and stepped inside, trying to avoid breaking anything or falling through the floor. Nobody has lived here in 10 years. The bodies are long gone, but I hear that some rooms still have blood stains in them. Even though I can't see it, I can still smell it. The entire mansion smell of rotting wood and dust, a sickening mixture I've gotten used to.  
I stepped into the entryway, and began to feel my way through the house. I forgot which room was which years ago, but I still knew which way lead to the attic. I felt my way out of the front room and into the room we used to entertain guests in, and eventually found the staircase. Walking up the stairs slowly, I felt heavy, as if my clothes were filled with water all of a sudden. When I reached the top, I stopped walking. I knew I was in the second floor corridor, that branched off into everybody's bedrooms. My bedroom was at the end...

I walked straight down the hall until I found my room. The door was missing, some teenagers broke in and ripped it off last year, but it still lay in the hallway right out front of the door. I tripped on it, forgetting it was there and stumbled forward a bit. When I managed to catch myself from falling, I straightened up. Limping over to the far corner, I felt around for the crack in the wall. The crack that hid the cord that lead to the attic.  
I discovered it when I was 4, there was a crack in the far-right corner of my room and wedged inside the crack was a string that when pulled, opened the attic door.  
After a few frustrating moments my fingers managed to free the string from it's hiding place and with one swift movement I pulled the cord, and stepped to the side at the same time. I could smell the dust as it fell from the ceiling, I had been hit by it a few years ago so I learned to step out of the way while pulling the cord. After I saw sure the dust-wave had subsided, I carefully climbed the latter into the attic.  
The attic of the Nakamura mansion is has one window, which leads directly onto the roof. And that's exactly where I was headed. The roof was my get-away place, when I was younger and these days. It's where I went to think. Once I got comfortable on the roof, I leaned back and closed my eyes. Not that it changed much, all I ever saw was black. Taking in the scent of old wood and crisp air all in one, my thoughts began to wander. From the massacre that left me blind to the accident that left me gimp. To the meeting with Naruto to just a few hours ago when we had parted ways. I still don't know how I ended up with him.. Sasuke Uchiha, the Konoha heart-throb, is the long-term boyfriend to Mayu Nakamura, the blind cripple of Konoha.

_I was seven years old when he asked me out.  
I was waiting at our usual spot. Perched on a rock I let my barefeet dangle in the river, feeling the ice cold water flow between my toes. Sasuke was late today, later than usual anyways... was he even coming?  
The sound of hurried footsteps and heavy panting was heard in the distance, and it got louder with each footstep meaning someone was quickly approaching. I was still young so my ability to sense chakra was still weak, but I knew it was Sasuke. I had a feeling...  
"You're late." I said with a smile, rubbing my sore leg. I felt him plop down on the rock beside me, still panting heavily. "He...sorry..Itachi...Itachi really worked me." he explained, trying his hardest to laugh. At this time, all the girls in the village started to obsess over him. Not a day went by where a swarm of females didn't try to woo him in one way or another. I had a crush on Sasuke too, but I didn't wanna tell him. I was scared he'd push me away.  
"Um.. Mayu?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head towards him, the bandages over my eyes obscured my vision so I couldn't see his face. All I could do was follow the sound of his voice. "Yes Sasuke?" I asked, hoping my face wasn't bright red.  
"I..." he began, but he trailed off. I heard him gulp from beside me. "I..." he tried again.  
"What is it Sasuke?" I asked, I was confused and concerned. Usually he's right cheerful and happy, today he was all nervous and awkwawrd. He exhaled deeply, and then I heard him take another deep breath,  
"I have a question...for you." Sasuke had finally spit out. A question? What could he possibly wanna ask me that made him act so weird?  
"Well ask." I said forcing a smile upon my face. I heard him take another deep breath, before two arms wrapped themselves around me, pulling me into a hug. I felt heat rush to my face.  
"Will you be my... will you be my girlfriend?" He asked really fast, but my hearing was better than everyone elses so I heard every word. The heat that rose to my face was now burning, I could have swore I was on fire.  
"R...really?" I whispered, the shock took my voice away. I felt him nodd into my shoulder. A large smile spread acrossed my face, and I wrapped my arms around him. Nuzzling my face into his shoulder I shyly nodded yes. I felt him smile into my neck, and we sat there hugging each other for what seemed like forever.  
It seems crazy yes, a seven year old and an eight year old dating, but I guess even young people can love._

Drifting from my thoughts to reality, I became aware of someone else. I could sense their chakra, and they were on the ground below me. I felt their chakra the moment I left the village, and I knew they were following me at a safe distance. I knew exactly who it was. Smiling I kept my eyes closed and waited for them to come up onto the roof. A few minutes later, a thud was heard and footsteps vibrated against my head as they grew closer.  
"You shouldn't be here.. Mayu-chan." came the soft voice of one of my closest friends. I smiled wider.  
"I could say the same to you.. Hinata-chan." Felt her sit down beside my head. "Sasuke and.. Naruto... will be mad." She said, trying to sound stern. She was so cute.  
"I know... that's why I know you won't tell them, eh Hinata-chan?" I turned my head towards my friend. "Why did you come in here anyways?"  
"Well... I saw you coming into the woods.. and I knew if Sasuke or Naruto found out then... then they would be mad at you and.. I uh.." she tried to get out. I laughed again.  
"Thanks for that. I should get back anyways.. Sasuke would have a fit if I was gone too long." I said standing up. Hinata stood up as well and she wrapped her arm around my waist as she jumped off the roof. I made sure to hold my leg up to avoid injuring it further on impact.  
We had just taken our first steps into the forest when I sensed Sasuke's chakra. And it was near.  
"Oh no, Sasuke's coming!" I gasped. "You sensed it too?" Hinata asked, her voice filled with panic.  
"What do we do?" I turned towards Hinata's chakra, hoping she would know. But I knew even she wouldn't know how to avoid the great Sasuke Uchiha. Suddenly I felt her pick me up bridal style. It surprised me at first, I didn't know she was so strong. She began to run super fast through the forest, trying to get as far away from Sasuke as she possibly could. Sasuke never ran with me like this, I wasn't sure why. The feeling of the wind blowing through my hair, my face felt like it would peel away at any moment. Usually, I would enjoy something like this but I could feel Sasuke's chakra growing stronger as he gained on us.  
"I don't think I can lose him!" I heard Hinata yell breathlessly. I nodded. "It's alright, just get me to my house. Maybe I can play dumb..." She nodded and picked up the pace.  
After a few minutes of running, Hinata came to a stop. The wind suddenly died down and my face was tingling. The feeling came back to it within seconds of stopping. When Hinata placed me down, I turned towards her. "Thank you!" I said, before running up the stairs I heard her reply with "Your welcome." before I ran inside.  
Shutting the door behind me, I leaned up against it and slid down to the floor. I breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke hadn't caught me in the forest, but I was sure he had his suspicions and I was going to hear them when he caught up to me. Smiling I reached out for the table I kept beside the door, and grasping for the edge of it I began to pull myself up. I was about halfway up before my hand slipped and I fell back onto the floor, letting out a shriek when I made impact.  
"Ow..." I groaned, struggling to stand up again. I was exhausted and my leg felt like it was trying to detach itself from the rest of my body. When I had finally managed to stand up, I turned to head into the kitchen but ended up colliding with something... soft. Reaching out I began to poke at the soft, squishy wall I had ran into. I poked all the way up it until my finger no longer felt material, and instead felt skin. I had ran into someone.  
Swallowing I reached my hands all the way up, and placed my hands on their head. I felt hair. Very soft, spikey hair. Forcing the most innocent smile upon my face that I could manage I wrapped my arms around his waist and nuzzled into him.  
"Hii~" I said, trying to sound as natural and cute as possible. I could hear him growling above me and felt the vibrations in my chin as he did so. His arms came up and wrapped themselves around me. His chin resting on my head.  
"Mayu..." He began, sensing a lecture coming I instantly cut him off.  
"Sasuke..." I copied his tone of voice, nuzzling farther into his chest. I was hoping my lovey-dovey act of cuteness would distract him, but I knew it wouldn't. It never did. He sighed and pushed me away from him, tilting my chin towards him. I smiled. "You're in trouble." he said, I could tell by the tone of his voice he wasn't as angry or serious as I thought he was going to be.  
It seems sucking up sometimes works.


	3. Chapter 3: Lost in Thoughts

"I'm sorry." I said, after the massive lecture I had just recieved from my boyfriend. It was the same as I usually got, "Mayu Namakura! You're blind, a blind girl in the woods is as vulnerable as an injured ninja in the middle of a war. You could have fell, got hurt, been kidnapped or attacked what were you thinking blah blah blah." I pretty much had it memorized by now.  
"Sasuke..." I started, but was cut off.  
"And what would you have done if a bunch of guys in the woods had caught you? and-"  
"Sasuke..." I tried again,  
"Do you know how worried you make me-"  
"Sasuke..." I tried once more.  
"And another thing-" "SASUKE!" This time I had cut him off. "Sasuke I'm fine. I was fine.. I had Hinata with me. How many ninjas do you see in the woods these days? None! That's right, none. I would have sensed them miles before they got to me anyways so relax."  
When I was finished with my arguement, Sasuke sighed and put his hands on my shoulders. We were still standing in the entryway to mine and Naruto's apartment.  
"Mayu... I'm sorry it's just... you know how I worry." He said softly. "You've been through so much and you're all I have, I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you." he finished. He was always like this, guilting me into promising to "never do that again." I know he means well but I wish he didn't smother me...  
I put my hands on his shoulders. "Sasuke... I know you worry about me but you don't have to anymore. I'm 15 now you can't keep me on a leash forever. Besides, I would have sensed an unfamiliar ninja miles before he even got to me so relax okay?" I reassured him. This time I was hoping he would listen.  
I could hear him sigh, and he rested his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry.. I'll try not to worry so much. But I can't promise anything." he said with a chuckle. I laughed too, even though he says this I know here for a fact that nextime I try to go off on my own he's gonna have a fit.  
"You should get some sleep, It's late." He says, letting go of my shoulders and kissing my forehead. "Only if you do too." I said, trying to make a deal. Sasuke usually sends me to bed early, but stays up real late thinking about things or training. It drives me crazy when he does this.  
"Fine, it's a deal. I'm unusually tired tonight anyways." Sasuke said leaning in to kiss me. I couldn't help but smile into the kiss, I was so happy with him

After I heard the door shut behind Sasuke, and then heard him growl after hitting his head on my windchimes, I turned to go to my bedroom. It doesn't take me long to get there, our apartment is tiny.  
Once you enter the house you're in what I call the "entryway." it's just a closet-sized space to put shoes when you come in. But once you take two steps into our apartment, you're in the kitchen. On the left side of the kitchen is the table, and on the right side is the cupboards, fridge, sink and stove. Directly acrossed from the entrance to the house is the door to the rest of the house.  
When you walk through that door, it's just a small hallway. At the very end is Naruto's room, to the right is my room and to the left is what I call the "sitting room." It's just a small room with a table, couch and bookshelf. There are no walls in this room, just one huge window that faces out into the town. I can't see the view outside the window of course, but I can hear the sounds of people chattering, and smell the foods that people are cooking. I love this room more than any other room in the house.  
My room is very plain. When you walk in, my bed is directly acrossed from you along the wall. I have a small window on that wall, over my bed. Beside my bed I have a tiny stand where I keep my water, alarm clock and candles. I can't see the light they give off, but I like the smells.  
There are two bathrooms in the house, mine is beside my bedroom and Naruto's is attached to his. This ensures privacy, and cleanliness. I like my bathroom clean but Naruto... well, let's just say he can grow new species in there.  
I have a closet on the far right wall, with my dresser to the right of it. I'm not sure what colour anything is, but Naruto painted my walls a pale indigo colour because he says it makes my room look brighter. I wish I could see..  
When I entered my room, I felt along the wall until I found my dresser. My PJ's are folded on top of it, so I don't need to rummage through my drawers looking for something to sleep in. I untied the bow holding my sweater together, slipped of my dress along with my undergarments, and then pulled on my PJ's. I usually sleep in nothing more than a very baggy shirt and sweat pants. Tonight I'm wearing one of the shirts I stole from Sasuke, which still smells like him.  
Crawling into bed, I rolled onto my back and just faced the ceiling, deep in thought. 'How did I get so lucky...?' I thought to myself. 'Something's going to happen soon. I just know it is.'  
Ever since Sasuke became a ninja, we haven't been able to spend as much time together. We still see each other atleast once a day of course, but we didn't get to go out on dates anymore, or stay up late talking on the roof of the Uchiha compound. I'm always so scared he's going to get hurt during a misson, or forget about me. I guess I worry too much..  
Sighing to myself I rolled over, closed my eyes and eventually after much thinking and worrying, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to the next day to the smell of something burning. Without even opening my eyes, I threw off the covers and felt my way out of my room and into the kitchen. The smell was the strongest in there.  
"Naruto! What did you do?" I asked. I heard startled yelp and a crash which made me want to face palm, but I resisted the erge.  
"Oh Mayu... did I wake you? hehehe...he...I uh, wanted to cook breakfast." Naruto explained nervously. "I kind of burnt the cereal though..." and with that last sentence, I really did face palm.  
"Just... clean up the mess, I'm gonna go take a bath... I'll make breakfast when I'm done okay?" I finished with a smile. I turned on my heel and headed towards my bathroom.  
When I shut the door, I heard another crash and a yell. I shook my head, Naruto was cleaning that up. I am not his maid.. I slowly inched acrossed the room, until my toe gently bumped the edge of my bathtub. I felt to my right, and found the back of the toilet, where I kept my candles. The lighter was directly beside the candle, where It always was, and I ignited the candle without much trouble at all.  
Feeling around for the bathroom taps, I turned the water one with one hand, using my other hand to feel the temperature. When I got it just right I put the plug in, undressed and slipped into the water. At first the water was extremely hot and hard to handle, but eventually my body adjusted to the temperature and I began to relax. The smell of jasmine filled the room. I didn't turn the light on, I never did nor did I need to... All I ever see is dark anyways. The candle was for scent purposes only.  
As I lay in the bath, feeling the water rush over my feet, my mind began to wander.  
'The Chunin exams are soon... that will mean Sasuke's gonna be busier than ever.' I thought to myself, before reaching over to turn the water off. 'What am I gonna do? All my friends will be participating... I wish I was a ninja, then I could go too...' I reached over and began to rub my sore knee. "If only I never got this stupid leg injury.. " a pang of guilt washed over me. I had told Naruto after it happened that it was no big deal, and that I wasn't mad. And It's true, I wasn't mad, but sometimes I wish it never happened.

_"Naruto? Naruto where are you?" I called into the dark.  
"Naruto.. this isn't funny I can't see." I said, feeling around for something, anything.  
"Naruto...AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" I screamed as my foot fell through the air, taking my body along with it.  
_

I opened my eyes for the first time today. Not that it did anything, I still couldn't see. But the memory that replayed in my head brought tears to my eyes. I could never be mad at Naruto it wasn't his fault, he didn't know what would happen. We promised that day that we wouldn't tell anyone what happened, because if anyone found out, they would jump all over Naruto. I can't even tell Sasuke.. The story that we agreed upon was I climbed up onto the roof of our apartment to play and slipped over the edge.  
I wiped the tears from my eyes. Sighing to myself I sat up to wash my hair, I kept everything in the same spot on the shelves along the edge of my tub so I could find it when I needed. It went; Shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, luffa, facecloth, razor, shavingcream. I also had stickers on each bottle, incase someone tried to pull a prank on me. I reached up and grabbed the shampoo, feeling my body begin to prune up I decided it was time to get out.

After my bath, I dried myself off and got dressed. I wasn't sure what the colour was, but I put on a dress that had sleeves that hung off my shoulders, and whose length went just above my knees. It was sort of, lacy or ruffly along the top with a little bow in the middle. After I brushed my hair, and parted it the best to my abilities, I felt my way into the hallway. What I smelled was almost schocking..  
"Naruto, what did you do now?" I asked, feeling for the table. I felt Naruto's hand grab mine and begin to lead me over towards something. "I didn't want you to have to cook breakfast.." he began. "And I felt bad for always messing things up, so I went to Ichiraku's and ordered us some ramen!" he said, laughing sheepishly at the end. I smiled.  
"I made sure to get seafood ramen for you, because I know it's your favourite." he added, making me smile wider. He was always there for me, even when I didn't want him to be.  
"Thanks Naruto." I said with a smile. I heard a chair screetch and Naruto pushed me down upon one. I moved myself in closer to the table and lifted my hands to feel around for my food. Naruto's hands once again found mine and guided them towards their destinations. One towards my bowl, the other towards my chopsticks.  
"Let's chow down!" I heard him say, I laughed. "Chow down indeed." I said with a smile, before taking a bite of the best ramen in all of Konoha.

After Naruto and I ate, he left for early-morning training. He left me alone in the apartment, as usual expecting me to stay inside all day. As soon as I felt his chakra almost completely diminish, I went outside for a walk. Noone was going to confine Mayu Nakamura to an apartment, and that was a fact!  
I got the bottom of my stairs and just walked straight. I couldn't see where I was going but that was alright, I could manage on my own. When I got a few dozen steps away from our place, I began to feel around for my surroundings. Eventually my hands collided with a tree. Feeling around the tree trunk for a few minutes, I found what I wanted. A number carved into the side of the trunk.  
When I was ten, I kept getting lost in the village. The Hokage gave me permission to carve numbers into the buildings, trees and benches in Konoha so I would know where I was at all times. The tree I was at was number 12, which meant the Hokage's office was just a few steps to my right, and directly ahead of my was the market. Smiling to myself I turned on my heel and headed towards the market.  
When I got into town, I knew exactly where I was going; Building number 3; The tea shop! I stopped there on a regular basis, just to relax. There's not much for a blind person to do alone in a village full of ninja's.  
"Hey Mayu." came the familiar voice of the owner. "Hey Ken." I said, turning towards the voice.  
The owners name was Kenji Watanabe, but I everyone called him Ken for short. He was a middle-aged man, with the face of a bandit and the personality of an angel. I'm not sure if the face-rumour is true, but he really was the nicest man in the village.  
"What will it be? The usual?" He said. I heard him place down a plate and a cup directly in front of me. I chuckled, "You know it!" I said, reaching out for the cup. Judging by the smell he saw me coming and brewed a fresh pot of tea for me. I picked up one of the freshly baked tea cookies he had set out for me and dunked it into the cup of steaming orange-pekoe tea. I took a bite, so good! This was my usual, I had it almost every morning.  
"So I've seen an unusual number of freaky foreign ninja's around lately.." Ken said. I jumped slightly, having thought he walked away to do something else. I swallowed my bite of cookie. "I'd say the Chunin exams are being hosted here.. am I correct?" he finished. I nodded. "Yeah.. everyone's really excited it seems." I said, taking a sip of tea. "Mmmm.. something seems off though. I mean, why would they want them to be hosted here in Konoha? We're a total hick town compared to the Mist or Waterfall village!" Ken added.  
Setting my cup down I couldn't help but ponder what he said. 'That's exactly what I've been thinking...' I thought to myself. I found feel the worry and tension coming from Ken, so I decided against agreeing with him. I laughed. "Don't worry too much." I said to him, "They probably just got tired of the same old scenery, the same old village. Must have wanted a change, I know I sure would." I added to make him feel better. Ken began to laugh. "I guess your right, I'm just a worry wart. Anyways enjoy your tea and cookie, It's on me this time! You know, for being such a loyal customer."

After my tea and cookies, Ken and I chatted about the weather for a bit before he got busy, and I decided to scurry away to make more room for customers.  
What Ken said had been stuck in my mind for a while, so I went for a walk so I had some alone time to think about it. 'Something big is going to happen... I know it, he knows it.' I began thinking. 'But why Konoha? What's special about here? I hope Sasuke is alright...' I frowned. 'I should warn Sakura and the others, if something happens they should be alert about it.'  
I was so lost in my thoughts I wasn't watching where I was going. I felt my face collide with someone's back, and judging by their unfamiliar chakra, they were not from around here.  
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, rubbing my sore nose. I felt the persons eyes on me, and I have to admit even though I couldn't see them, I could tell they weren't very friendly eyes. "I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going... please forgive me." I said, hoping that they wouldn't be tempted to eat me.  
"Don't apologize." Came a soft, husky voice. I stopped rubbing my nose and looked in the direction of the voice. "You're obviously blind, so It's not your fault at all. I apologize for not moving out of your way." He said. His tone of voice was something I never heard before. It was soft, but deep. Aggressive, but calm. Emotionless, but filled with anger and sorrow. Maybe all this person needed was someone to be nice to them. I smiled.  
"No It's alright, I have a very good chakra sense you see, so I should have realized you were there. But I was deep in thoughts and must have became distracted." I said, reaching over towards him. Eventually my hands found his shoulders, and I felt him tense up from my touch. Ignoring it I smiled up at what I hoped was his face.  
"I hope you enjoy your stay here in Konoha, best of luck in the Chunin exams." I said, rubbing his shoulders a bit before letting go. I nodded at him and walked around him, trying to give him his space. I could tell instantly he wasn't a very social person.  
I felt his eyes burning holes in the back of my head while I was walking away, and even when I was sure he couldn't see me anymore, I swear I still felt him watching me.


	4. Chapter 4: Gaara

My encounter with this foreign ninja left me spooked, but also curious. He didn't seem like a bad guy, just.. misunderstood.  
I decided to shrug it off and leave him alone. He was obviously somebody you shouldn't mess with, and on top of that he was also a Jinchuriki. I could tell because of his chakra..  
You see, being blind I need other ways to be able to get around. My hearing is one, and my keen chakra sense is another. I've memorised the chakra patterns of every ninja in Konohagakura, so I know who's who and where they are. The stronger the ninja, the higher their chakra levels are. Sasuke has very high chakra levels being as strong as he is, so does Kakashi-sensei. Naruto, being a Jinchuriki, has abnormally strong chakra levels, so strong that no matter where Naruto is in Konoha or the surrounding areas, I can sense him.  
This would make me one of the greatest ninja's around if I didn't have a game leg.

I wandered a little ways outside of town, to the spot where Sakura and I sat yesterday afternoon. My favourite spot in town.  
This bench was marked with a 2.  
Sitting down I sighed, and leaned my head back, listening to the sounds of the birds chirping in the tree-tops behind me. They sounded so happy as they sang their songs and danced around one another. I could even swear one was cheeping "Mayu, mayu" but it most definitely was my imagination. The wind was gently blowing, so I could hear the leaves rustling and the branches scraping up against other branches or tree-trunks. It had the most natural noise in Konoha, and I enjoyed every minutes of it.  
I was aware of someone watching me from the treetops. It was the ninja from earlier.

"I know you're there." I said with a smile, not bothering to lift my head. "You can come talk to me you know, I won't bite." I said, lifting my head up this time. I didn't hear any movement, but suddenly his chakra was directly beside me as if he teleported. I didn't think anything of it though, ninja's have weird jutsu's and this was probably one of them. I looked in the direction his chakra was coming from and smiled. "You can sit down. Like I said, I don't bite."  
He walked over and sat down beside me on the bench, but kept his distance. He was practically hanging off the edge, I kinda felt sorry for him. I moved over farther away from him, and when I did so I could feel the anger within him rise. I patted the bench beside me.  
"I moved over so you had more room." I explained, hoping to avoid angering him even further. He seemed to calm down after this and moved over a bit so he was no longer hanging off the edge.  
"So you must be here for the Chunin exams." I began, trying to start a conversation. Silence was the reply.  
"What village are you from?" I tried again. Still more silence. I looked down, playing with my thumbs hoping he would sense my awkwardness and atleast tell me where he was from.  
"Sunagakure." He said at last, his voice still as emotionless as before. I looked over, 'So he's from the sand village.'  
"What's it like there?" I asked curiously. I truly wanted to know, I had never been there. I heard a noise coming from his throat, it sounded like he let out a cross between a "hmph" and a chuckle.  
"It's nothing but dull buildings and sand." He told me. I pointed my eyes towards the sky. "Sand..." I trailed off.  
"I've never seen sand before. What's it look like?" I asked him.  
It was true. There was no sand in Konoha, and I've only been to the beach once with Naruto and Iruka. But it was after I lost my eyesight so I never got to see sand.  
Nothing was said afterwards, my stomach felt sick. I was probably annoying the hell out of this poor guy, he didn't seem very happy to talk to me. 'Maybe I should just leave him alone..' I thought to myself.  
"Have you seen dirt?" he asked. I gasped, a bit startled. I hadn't expected him to speak again.  
I just nodded in his direction. "At my clans mansion we had a garden out back and I would always play in it." I explained, praying for a reply this time.  
"Well, it looks like dirt but it's more coarse and light in colour." He told me.  
"What colour is it?"  
"Golden brown."  
"Golden brown..." I couldn't remember what golden brown was. 'Sounds like a very light brown colour, or maybe it's another shade of gold.' My thoughts told me.  
"What happened?" His voice interrupted my thoughts.  
"What do you mean?" I asked, unsure as to what he meant. I could feel his eyes on me, just as I had before. Only this time, they werent as fierce.  
"To your eyes, and your leg." He asked. I turned my head to face whatever was in front of me. I wasn't used to talking about my childhood misfortunes. Everybody in Konoha knew what happened, sort of, so I never had to explain it to them. But he didn't seem so bad.  
"When I was five a group of ninja's attacked the mansion my clan lived in and.. killed everybody." I paused, took a deep breath and continued. "I was the only survivor, and the youngest.. The leader didn't wanna kill me because I was so young so he just.. blinded me." I explained, feeling my stomach turn a bit while I told him. I think about it all the time and it doesn't phase me one bit, but I guess talking about it is a bit different..  
The ninja went silent, as he usually is, and didn't say anything to me after that. I wanted this conversation to keep going, but I also wanted to change the topic.  
"My name is Mayu. What's yours?" I asked with a smile, trying to turn this conversation around.  
I heard him take a breath, as if he were about to speak, but then nothing came. No voice, no name, nothing. But I did feel him tense up, and as soon as I sensed the chakra I knew and loved so well approaching, I knew why he suddenly grew so tense.

"Mayu!" Sasuke's voice came. He sounded mad. I stood up to meet him.  
"Sasuke! What are you doing here you're supposed to be-" "What are you doing here?" He cut me off. I blinked a few times, something I was accustomed to doing when I was confused. I don't know what affect it could possibly have on people, but I've been told it makes me look cute.  
"What do you mean..?" I asked, biting my bottom lip. His breathing sounded heavy like he was tired and worn out, and I could tell he was angry about something. He didn't say anything to me, but he stood still. I wanted desperatly to see what it was he was doing, I assumed just staring at something. But at what? Was he staring at the ninja I had been talking to? Did they know each other?  
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife...  
"Nevermind... Were going now." He said suddenly, with more force in his voice than I've ever heard before.  
I felt his arm snake around my waist and pull me closer to him. Then he began to forcefully lead me away from the bench, from my new friend.  
"S-sasuke what are you doing?" I asked him, trying to break free. But he didn't answer, he just kept pushing me away. I could feel the ninja's chakra begin to fade, but his stare kept burning into my skin as if he were still right beside me. After a few moments I gave up struggling and just let Sasuke push me along my way. Eventually he stopped pushing me and turned me to face him.  
"Why were you talking to Gaara?" He asked. 'Gaara...? Is that his name?' I thought to myself, completely ignoring Sasuke's question. 'I guess that would make sense he sure seems like a Gaara.'  
"Well?" Sasuke demanded again. I frowned. "What's the big deal? We were just talking." I asked, feeling slightly angry.  
Sasuke angrily sighed from in front of me, and his hands slipped from my shoulders.  
"Stay away from him, Mayu." He said. I glared at him. "Excuse me?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips.  
"Sasuke Uchiha, you don't own me you can't tell me who I can and can-not hang around with." I was mad now. His hands found their places on my shoulders again, and he pulled me a bit closer to him. I felt his breath on my face, causing some of my anger to fade away.  
"Mayu.. I ran into him earlier. Him and his team mates.. He's bad news, all of the ninja's that came here for the Chunin exams are. Promise me you'll stay away from him." He paused. "Or atleast.. try to be careful. I don't trust any of them."  
I couldn't help but smile, he was actually trusting me for once. Atleast, I hoped he was... I reached my hands up and put them on his face. I traced his nose with my thumbs and slid my hands down his face until I held it in my hands. His skin was so soft, blemish free.  
"Don't worry about me Sasuke. I'll be careful. Besides, no respectable ninja would pick on the blind cripple now would they?" I said with a wink.  
Before he could say anything, I pulled his face towards mine and our lips met. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to deepen this kiss.  
Even though I would have liked to enjoy this moment with my boyfriend, I couldn't.  
My mind couldn't shake off the fact that a pair of eyes were still watching me...

"Sasuke?" I asked, looking up at him.  
"Hmm?" Was his reply. I looked down, unsure as to how I would ask him this question. A lot had been on my mind since the announcement of the Chunin exams, and one thing was really bothering me. I needed to talk to Sasuke about it now before I went insane.  
"Will you ever leave me?" I asked him finally, regretting it instantly. Sasuke's head lifted from on top of mine.  
It was now dark outside, Sasuke and I were laying on the roof of the Uchiha compound. I was in his lap and he had his arms wrapped around me making sure I didn't go anywheres. As usual, I probably just killed our romantic moment.  
"What do you mean?" he asked, a bit astonished. My stomach felt like a ninja battle was going on inside of it.  
"It's just..." I paused. "I feel like something bad is going to happen soon. And when it does, I feel like you are going to leave me." I explained, unable to face him. Not like it would do me any good, I can't see anyways..  
Sasuke's face shifted, as if he was looking away from me, out into the sky. Instantly I felt regret and worry build up inside of me, did I just anger him?  
Finally, after what seemed like forever, he tightened his grip around me and his head resumed it's resting place on mine.  
"I'll never leave you." He said. I looked up to face him.  
"Promise?" He kissed me on the forehead.  
"I promise. No matter what happens I'll never leave you. I'll take you with me no matter where I go. You're all I have..." he said the last part with a pang of sadness in his voice.  
Sasuke was calm and collected in public, but when it was just us he let his emotions fly, and when he did I was always there for him.  
He still can't get over the fact that his family is dead...

_It was almost a week, and Sasuke still hasn't shown up.  
I was confused, he always met me here at the same time everyday. 'Maybe he forgot?' I thought, enjoying the tickle as the rushing river danced between my toes. 'Or maybe... he doesn't wanna see me anymore.' I felt my heart get heavy.  
Ever since the Nakamura Massacre, Sasuke and Naruto have been my only friends. If I lost one, it was only a matter of time before I lost the other one. Tears began to well up in my eyes. "He's not coming..." I had finally admitted it to myself.  
I slowly stood up. My leg was recently broken by a fall I had off of a roof, so every step I took caused me pain. And this stupid cast didn't help... I turned to leave, but a twig snapping caused me to freeze in spot.  
"I'm here." Same the quiet voice of Sasuke Uchiha. I wanted to limp over and hug him, but judging by the tone of his voice something had happened.  
"What happened?" I asked, trying to walk towards him. As soon as I put all my weight on my right leg I buckled from the pain. I expected to come face to face with the dirt, but instead something caught me. Sasuke caught me. He helped me over to the rock I was originally sitting on, and then we both grew silent.  
That was until I heard sobbing beside me.  
"Sasuke... What-" Before I could get anymore out, he grabbed me and pulled me into him.  
"They're all dead... everyone, is dead. Itachi he.. he killed them." He cried. He didn't need to say anymore after that.  
I wrapped my arms around him and we both cried in each other shoulders until the third Hokage came and found us in the woods together.  
It was that day we made a pact to always be together no matter what._

My mind drifted back to reality.  
Feeling lonely I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist, and snuggled further into his chest. He rested his head on top of mine, while gently stroking my hair. Even though we were so close that not even air could flow between us, and he was holding onto me so tightly that nobody would ever be able to pry us apart. Even though he had just made me a promise... I felt alone.  
"I love you." Sasuke said, kissing my forehead.  
My eyes widened and my heart began to beat uncontrollably.  
Sasuke had told me he loved me numerous times, but I haven't heard those three words in almost 6 months. I felt so happy all of a sudden..  
"and I love you." I said, leaning up for a kiss. Our lips parted almost as soon as they met, and even though it was just a short and sweet kiss, it still left me with a warm feeling inside.  
I slowly drifted off to sleep, happily wrapped in the arms of my boyfriend with a smile upon my face.  
Even with my happiness, I couldn't help but think that something bad was going to happen, no matter what Sasuke promised me.


	5. Chapter 5: So you're a Jinchuriki?

Today was training day.  
For the ninja's anyways. Because I'm not a ninja, I was alone all day and extremely bored.  
I was sitting on the edge of a lake just outside of town but still inside Konoha's borders. My feet dangled in the water while I softly sang to myself.  
_ "Saa don de yuko u, don de yuko u. Oui kaze ga fuku ite kita you. Nagare ni nore, nagare ni nore, flow."  
_Gaara's chakra has been sitting in the trees behind me for almost an hour and a half, surely he must be bored by now.  
_"Don na yami mo, don na yami mo. Hikari ga atte shiru ru mono sa. Umaku, ikuyo, kitto."  
_I decided it was probably time for Gaara to come out of his hiding place and come visit me, I was getting bored anyways and I was sure he was too.

"I know you're there." I said loud enough for him to hear. "Might as well come out."  
I listened, and I didn't hear any movement coming from the woods, and his chakra didn't seem to be moving either. But within seconds I felt his chakra beside me once again, just like on the bench.  
"You like doing that don't you?" I said, staring out into the lake. I was trying to picture what it would look like, I've never seen any large bodies of water before. Just the little duck pond we once had at the Nakamura Mansion.  
Gaara didn't say anything to me, he simply stood there beside me. I sighed, he was stubbourn alright. I could tell the moment I first bumped into him that he wasn't very social, or friendly, and he didn't seem to like contact with other people. Even so, I was determined to get him to open up more. Atleast a little bit...  
"Beautiful weather we're having right?" I tried again. This time I felt his eyes on me, his stare was so intense I could sense it even with my blindness.  
"You can't see the weather." He said calmly. "How can you know that it's beautiful?" I chuckled.  
"It's true I can't see it. But.. you don't have to have to actually see something to be able to admire it's beauty." I stated. Gaara sat down beside me on the edge of the water. I didn't hear his feet slip in as mine were but that didn't bother me, he probably had his reasons.  
Maybe he didn't trust the lake, I can't see any part of it what-so-ever so how can I even trust the lake? There could be dangerous fish lurking about, but I didn't know that. Most people determine whether or not they can trust someone by the way they look or the way the present themselves.  
Because I'm blind I have to test for myself if I can truly trust someone or not, and that's what I was doing with Gaara. Perhaps Sasuke was wrong, but perhaps he was right. There was only one way to find out...  
"I'm an example of that." I began, feeling his eyes on me once more. "I can't see people, so I'll never be able to tell if they're ugly, or beautiful. But I can tell if they have a good heart, and a beautiful personality. I can't see snow, but I can admire it's form. How it can go from being just beautiful specks of snow falling gravefully from the heavens, to being a raging hurricane that can kill you if you stand outside in it for too long.  
I can't see the sun, but I can admire the heat it gives off.  
For all I know the surrounding forrest could be dead and dying in the ugliest of ways, but the sounds that come from it are music to my ears.  
So you are right, Gaara, I can't see the weather. But I do know that it's beautiful, by the way that it feels and by the way animals, nature and people react to the way it feels."  
I could tell he was a bit overwhelmed. Most people probably don't approach him with heartfelt speeches like that on a daily basis, if they ever do at all.  
He was creepily silent, I couldn't even hear his breathing. If it wasn't for his overwhelming chakra beside me I would have thought he vanished. We sat in the silence for a long time after this. I was paying close attention to the sounds coming from the forest. I heard birds, geese, some squirrels and a ton of bugs. At one points I heard a deer calling out to it's mate.  
After an hour I couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"So you're a Jinchuriki?" I asked. I'll admit it was brave of me to come out with this so suddenly, especially after I just met the guy, but hey it was a conversation and I was curious.  
I felt Gaara tense up beside me, and his stare began to burn holes into my head. I swore I could feel the heat on the side of my head.. He wasn't too happy I brough this up, and I can understand why. I have been best friends with Naruto for ten years. I turned towards Gaara with a smile.  
"I'm sorry I shouldn't pry in on your personal life. We don't have to talk about it." I assured him. He was still very tense, I felt something begin to creep up my arms like a snake. Usually, I would freak out, but right now I had a feeling Gaara was doing this somehow and I had to calm him down.  
"How did you know?" He asked, in a freakishly angry voice. My eyes widened for a second, but went back to being soft.  
"I can just tell." I said. But this answer obviously wasn't the one he wanted to hear, because more of the stuff began to creep up my body.  
"Your chakra is strong, overwhelming actually. I've only ever met one other person with chakra that strong, and he was a Jinchuriki. That's how I knew." I explained. This seemed to clam him down, I felt one of my arms free themselves and a portion of my body as well. But my left arm and from the waist down was still covered in whatever it was.  
"You.. know another.. like me?" He asked, in the same angry voice as before. I nodded.  
"He's my bestfriend." I said smiling. Gaara flinched, and he must have let his guard down as well for all the stuff he had covered me with before fell off me instantly. Gaara was beginning to be an interesting person in my mind.  
"He's... your friend? But why?" Gaara asked me. His voice had emotions I never heard from him before. He sounded like he was in pain, angry, sad and confused at the same time. Maybe he grew up just like Naruto?  
"He's always been there for me." I explained, looking up towards the sky that I couldn't see. "We've been best friends for ten years..."

_I was blindly exploring Konoha. It probably wasn't my best idea because I had no idea where I was. I stopped walking and sighed, touching the bandages acrossed my eyes. My eyes were still tender and sore from being attacked, so it hurt to touch them. The doctor said that my eyes would be fine, except that everything would be a little blurry from now on. I knew he was wrong, I always knew he was wrong. He didn't feel how deep the Kunai went in, I know I would be permanently blind. I was about to continue on my way until I heard crying coming from beside me.  
I turned towards the sound and listened. I heard slow, creaking, but I couldn't figure out what was making that sound. The sound of feet dragging on the ground was also heard, and so was sobbing. Somebody was crying, somebody was also miserable just like me..  
I began to walk towards the sound, holding my hands out to protect me from anything or anyone I might run into.  
"Hello?" I yelled out. The creaking stopped and so did the sobbing. All I could hear now was sniffles.  
"Am I close?" I asked, still holding my hands out. The sniffles were getting louder now, and my hand collided with something rough. 'A tree trunk?' I asked myself, feeling around the trunk for some clues as to where I was.  
"Who are you?" I heard from beside the tree. "What do you want?" I heard again, hearing him sniffle once more.  
I began to feel down the tree until my hand made contact with the Earth below it. Feeling around for any wet spots on the ground I sat down just below the tree, not bothering to lift my head to make it seem like I was looking at the crying boy because I knew I would mess up and end up looking at something else.  
"I'm Mayu." I said with the biggest smile I could make at that moment. The boy didn't say anything, he just sniffed some more. "What's your name?" I asked.  
"Naruto..." He told me. "What do you want?"  
"Um.. I'm not sure. I heard you crying and came to investigate. Why are you crying Naruto?" I asked him, smoothing out wrinkles in my dress, even though I wasn't sure if I even had any or not.  
"Nobody likes me. Everyone hates me, and I don't know why." Was his reply. I lifted my head a bit, hoping I was atleast looking in his direction.  
"I like you." I said.  
"But you just met me.."  
"So, doesn't mean that I don't like you." I told him with a smile. _

"About a year after that I found out from one of the villagers that he was a Jinchuriki. It didn't bother me as much as people had expected it to, I mean, it doesn't really change who he is." I finished. Gaara was silent the entire time I told him about my meeting with Naruto, he was taking it all in surprisingly.  
"You don't think it changes who he is?" Gaara asked, his voice thick with anger. I turned my head towards him, 'What does he mean?'  
"You're a fool." Was all he said after that. My eyes widened. 'A fool? How am I a fool?!'  
"Your friend is just like me. He grew up hated by everyone, shunned, neglected, feared. Everybody thinks of him as nothing but a monster, a beast, and that's exactly what we are, beasts." He told me. The tone of his voice sent shivers up my spine. "He's a fool causing his own demise."  
"If you two are exactly the same, then why is he a fool?" I asked Gaara, I was getting annoyed and my tone surely showed it.  
Gaara began to laugh, a very creepy laugh that would have caused me to run back to town if my leg wasn't so badly damaged.  
"He's a fool because he wastes his time caring about others. Those who waste their time on others end up becoming weak, and will eventually die as a result of that weakness. I live my life for me, and myself only, and my goal in life is to wipe out every single human being on this planet... including you."  
After Gaara said that I felt the same stuff begin to creep up my arms and body just as it had before. Part of me wanted to run, to scream, and find Sasuke. But the rest of me said to stay, to fight him off. He was just like Naruto, and I knew somewheres deep inside of him was a human yearning for love.  
"Go ahead, kill me. Your life won't get better, it will stay exactly the same. Only you'll have one less person to talk to." I said as calmly as I could. The stuff Gaara sent after me stopped sudenly, and I felt him tense up a bit.  
Slowly the stuff that had ahold of me began to slowly slip away, and once I was free I sighed in relief. 'He's just like a kid all he really needs is some nurturing.' I thought to myself, rubbing my arms. Whatever that stuff was he kept sending after me, it sure was rough and itchy feeling.  
"You're different." He said, in an emotionless tone. I smiled.  
"Different is good." I said. "How am I different?"  
"You didn't run. You weren't afraid. You.. care about another Jinchuriki." He said in the same emotionless tone. I lifted my good leg out of the water, leaving the bad one submerged. The cold water felt good on my bad knee.  
"Of course. I don't think that.. having a beast inside of you makes you a bad person. It doesn't make you a monster or anything like that. You're still a human being no matter what's sealed away inside of you. It's how you act towards others that determines whether or not you're a beast or not." I said. My words were probably going to enrage him further but, that didn't stop me.  
"What do you mean?" Gaara asked, his voice filled with anger once again. I pulled my leg out of the water, and stood up holding my shoes in my hand. I kept my face pointed out acrossed the lake.  
"Naruto isn't a beast because even after all he went through growing up he never gave up searching for love, or for friendship. He never let the beast within him take over, and he never let it beat him. He made sure he stayed as human as possible.  
A beast is somebody who rejects all love and kindness directed towards them. They let the beast within them take over, and they become a cold heartless monster, who only cares about themselves and who's only purpose in life is to kill. That is what a beast truly is."  
I turned and began to walk away leaving Gaara sitting by the lake. He was probably going to hate me forever, and possibly try to kill me for saying what I did but it was the only way I could get Gaara to re-think his "eliminte the human race" plan.

I kept walking until Gaara's chakra faded almost completely. He stayed by the lake even after I had left, possibly shocked by what I said or possibly plotting my death.  
When I stopped walking, I was in front of my apartment. My windchimes clinked together overhead. I sighed, sitting down on one of the steps with my shoes by my side and my head in my hands.  
'What have I done?' I thought to myself burrying my head in my hands. 'I only hope he doesn't hate me to much after what I said...'

[Mayu's song was FLOW by Eiko Shimamiya]


	6. Chapter 6: Bonding With Boyfriend

The first part of the Chunin exams had just ended.  
I was standing outside waiting for everyone to exit, hoping and praying Squad 7 had passed. Eventually I felt Sakura's chakra leave the building, followed by Naruto's and then finally Sasuke's. I began to clap my hands with joy.  
"Did you pass?" I asked, hobbling over to them.  
"Believe it!" Naruto shouted in my ear causing my to flinch. I heard a smack afterwards signalling somebody, probably Sakura, had hit him.  
I sweatdropped.  
"Of course Sakura and I passed. I'm surprised Naruto passed..." Sasuke said calmly walking up beside me. This caused a tantrum from Naruto but Sakura stopped him by hitting him once again. This focused all Naruto's wrath on her.  
"Those two.. are total idiots." Sasuke said. I laughed and jumped at him wrapping my arms around him. He picked me up and spun me around causing me to laugh like a child. "I knew you would pass there's no way you could fail." I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.  
I could sense Gaara and his squad not too far from me, and as usual he was glaring holes into the back of my head. He was probably still mad about yesterday.  
But I also felt another pair of eyes on me, one that I didn't recognize. Whoever it was, they seemed to be focused on Sasuke and I and it sent chills down my spine.  
"The second part begins tomorrow." Sasuke informed me. I nodded. "The Hokage said you can wait at the end of it, whatever that means, for us when we pass and then you can spectate the third part." Sasuke told me, kissing me on the forehead. I squealed with joy. "You mean, I can actually watch you guys?!" I asked, my face beaming with joy. Sasuke chuckled at my joke. "You can listen to us anyways. We're not even sure what the second and third part is yet.. but the Hokage said you can wait at the end of the second part and listen to the third part. So I'm hoping it's good..." He trailed off.  
"I'm so pumped! You better sound good Sasuke I'm warning you." I told him with a wink. He grabbed my hand and our fingers laced together. "Let's go, those two are giving me a headache."  
On cue, I heard Naruto yell "Sakura Haruno you are dead to me!" followed by Sakura's signature "Cha you're dead!" and then the sounds of fists colliding with face and feet colliding with stomach could be heard.  
"Who's winning?" I asked Sasuke when we were far enough away from the brawl. He turned to look, chuckled and then turned back. "Sakura was winning until Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei broke then apart." I laughed, trying to picture the scene inside my head.

Sasuke took me to his house where we decided to cook some supper. Even though I was blind, I was a killer cook!  
"Pass me the soya-sauce please." I held out my hand waiting for my boyfriend to pass me the stuff I requested.  
"Hai chef." Sasuke said jokingly, seconds before I felt the cold bottle in my hand.  
Him and I were making stir fry, but as usual Sasuke forgot to get groceries so he was a little short for supplies. Our sad little stir fry consisted of brocolli, beef and carrots. He didn't even have rice in the house so it was a very incomplete stirfry.  
"What kind of an Asian doesn't have rice in his house?" I asked Sasuke, completely astonished at his lack of rice. He didn't even have noodles!  
"I ate it all and forgot to buy more I guess.." Was his reply, causing my to face palm.  
I managed to add the right amount of soya-sauce, spices and salt and pepper to make it taste a lot better than it must have looked.  
"You should move in." Sasuke joked, sitting down acrossed from me. "I could use a cook." He said.  
I laughed, feeling around for my chopsticks. "You know why I can't move in, everyone in Konoha would spread rumours." I said, finally finding my chopsticks. Sasuke knows I hate it when he tells me where things are, I like finding them for myself.  
He laughed. "So true."  
While we ate we talked a bit about the Chunin exams. He told me about the written part, how they were told not to cheat but in the end they had to cheat to get the answers anyway. Naruto apparently freaked out and went into convulsions apparently, which was a sad but funny thought.  
"There was one grass ninja who kept staring at me the entire time.. It gave me the creeps." Sasuke said suddenly. I stopped eating, remembering when they had been let out of their exam.

_"Those two.. are total idiots." Sasuke said. I laughed and jumped at him wrapping my arms around him. He picked me up and spun me around causing me to laugh like a child. "I knew you would pass there's no way you could fail." I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek._  
_I could sense Gaara and his squad not too far from me, and as usual he was glaring holes into the back of my head. He was probably still mad about yesterday._  
_But I also felt another pair of eyes on me, one that I didn't recognize. Whoever it was, they seemed to be focused on Sasuke and I and it sent chills down my spine._

I must have looked more worried than I thought I did because Sasuke came over and sat beside me, and began to rub my back.  
"What's wrong?" He asked, I shook my head.  
"It's.. nothing. Nevermind I'm just over-thinking that's all." I said smiling over at him. I could tell he didn't believe me, but he didn't press the matter further. He pulled his plate over to the seat beside mine and we sat beside each other, talking about anything besides ninja-related-topics until our supper grew cold.  
"Mayu?"  
"Yes Sasuke?"  
"If you could see... what's the first thing you would want to see?" He asked me. I frowned, the answer should have been obvious.  
"I want to see you." I told him, resting my head on his shoulder.  
"Really?"  
"Really."  
I loved these moments Sasuke and I had together. We don't have them enough for my liking but I guess I'll have to get used to it, after all he was a ninja now and he was going to be busy his whole life.  
Sasuke and I talked together until it was almost midnight and I fell asleep resting on his shoulder. He must have carried me home because when I woke up, I was in my own bed.

*Short chapter, I apologize~


	7. Chapter 7: My Fears Came True

I spent the most of the day worrying about Sasuke and the others.  
The second part of the Chunins exams had started two hours ago, and nobody bothered to wake me up before hand so I could wish everyone good luck!  
I didn't think anything of it at first, I just got up and did my usual routine, bath, breakfast, and then tea at Ken's. But today I overheard a conversation I honestly wish I hadn't.

_I was sitting at Ken's shop drinking my tea as usual, when I overheard a conversation between two Jounins.  
"The second part of the Chunin exams started eh?" The first one said.  
"Yeah I know, they're brave ninja's that's for sure. The forest of death was the toughest challenge I ever had to face, It's a shame to learn that only half of them will come out alive." The second one said.  
I spit out my tea after that._

"I hope they're all okay..." I said to myself, pacing back and forth outside of Ken's.  
I was waiting for Kakashi-sensei to come and get me to take me to the tower to meet up with the survivors. Waiting was so difficult, especially when three of your best friends are in danger.  
"Don't worry about it Mayu." Ken said, coming up behind me and patting me on the back. "They're the toughest genin in Konoha, they'll make it out no problem!" I sighed. "I hope you're right..." I said. I wanted to believe him, but the over-paranoid part of me wouldn't let me. I kept thinking of all the horrible things that could happen to them inside of that place.  
"I wouldn't worry too much." Came the sudden voice of Kakashi-sensei at my shoulder. I jumped, I wish people would stop doing that!  
"Kakashi!" I yelled in surprise. "Don't do that to me!"  
"Sorry. I keep forgetting you're blind. Anyways , don't worry about them too much Mayu. They're young and a bit naiive sometimes but, they're my squad and I know they're prepared."  
"I know I shouldn't worry too much but I can't help it..."  
"I know it's in a woman's nature to worry a lot." He said, placing a hand on my head.  
"What's that mean?!" I yelled in mock anger. Kakashi just chuckled. "Anyways I'm here to take you to the tower, they should be arriving soon." He told me. I smiled, finally I got to see them! I felt Kakashi lift me up bridal style, which was a bit awkward as nobody has ever done that before except for Sasuke and Naruto.  
My body suddenly felt strange, as if it were very light and almost weightless. It was a strange feeling, and I didn't like it.

However, as soon as it came the strange feeling left and I was suddenly on the ground beside Kakashi.  
"What's going on, where are we?" I asked, turning my head side to side to figure out where I was. I heard the turning of pages beside me which meant Kakashi was being a pervert again.  
"We're at the tower. Your leg is bad so I decided to teleport us here instead of making you walk the whole way." He said in his usual lazy voice. I shook my head, 'How did this guy become a Jonin?' I thought to myself in disbelief.  
I decided to ignore the perverted sensei beside me and focus on my surroundings. I could feel many different chakra's, a lot of them were foreign to me but some I recognized. Kiba, Hinata and Shino were here which meant they were okay. And I felt Iruka-sensei here too. There was one chakra that stood out more than the others, and that was Gaara's.  
I could feel his eyes on me, meaning he too knew I was here.  
'I should go apologize.' I thought to myself. 'I hate it when people are mad at me and I really didn't need to say those things to him. Even though he kinds had it coming...' I said. As if he was reading my thoughts, I felt Gaara's chakra begin to come closer to me. I decided to meet him halfway.  
When his chakra felt close enough to me I decided to stop walking to avoid running into him.  
"Hi Gaara." I said with a small smile. He didn't say anything, which was normal for him. I decided to try again.  
"Congratulations on making it this far." I said. "Even though there really wasn't a doubt in my mind that you could do it." I added with a laugh hoping to cheer him up. The awkward but angry aura I got from him faded just a little bit, which meant he was warming up to me. A little bit.  
"Did you come to see Uchiha?" He asked. I blinked in confusion, since when was he ever curious about Sasuke?  
"Well, I can't really see them of course. But I did come to.. listen to them participate. Sasuke, and Naruto, and of course you too Gaara." I said smiling at him. Maybe all he really needed was more smiles and less anger.  
"I see.." Was all he said. 'You are not ending this conversation so easily.' I thought, my mind racing to find more things to say.  
"Do you know what the third part is yet?" I asked him, hopin to strike up a conversation.  
"No."  
"Oh. Well I'm sure you'll do good."  
And more silence. This guy was difficult to keep a conversation going with. I was about to open my mouth and say more when I felt Squad 7's chakra enter the room. Excitement and pure joy welled up inside me, I was relieved to know they were okay.  
"Well Gaara, It was nice talking to you again but I gotta go check on my other friends. Talk to you soon okay?" I said, giving him a slight bow and turnin to run. Before I got too far I turned back to face him. "Oh and sorry about what I said! I didn't mean any of it really." I yelled to him, hoping he heard me. I waved in his direction and resumed my happy run towards Squad 7. I was hoping Gaara was still looking at me when I did that, because if not I just looked stupid in front of couple dozen people...

My leg started to ache a little as I was running towards them, but I didn't really care I just wanted to see them. I stopped running when I got close enough and limped the rest of the way, avoiding a head-on collision.  
"Hey guys!" I said, when I reached them. "I'm so glad you're okay I was worried." I admitted.  
"Mayu! Hey what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, he sounded tired.  
"Yeah, you shouldn't be here." I heard Sakura say, she also sounded tired.  
Sasuke didn't say anything, but his chakra seemed to be used up so I suspected he was extremely tired.  
"The Hokage came me permission to come.. listen.. to you guys partcipate in the third round. I obviously wasn't going to miss an oportunity to do that!" I said smiling at my worn out friends. I wanted them to cheer up a bit, they seemed very worn out.  
I heard Sasuke grunt from my left, and then felt him throw himself on me. Literally. It seems like he tried to hug me but he was so tired he ended up just falling limply on me, but I managed to hold him up even with my bad leg. I had my arms around his back supporting him while his head rested on my shoulder. His arms dangled at his sides.  
"H...hey." He managed to spit out. I kissed his cheek. "Hey to you too. You're tired you should rest.. Naruto are there any places to sit in here?" I asked.  
"Uh...uh yeah yeah there is!" Naruto spit out. I nodded. "Help me get him to one of them would you?" I asked Naruto.  
I felt Sasuke's weight lift off of me as Naruto lifted him up, or drug him, which ever he did, to the benches along the outside of the room they were in.  
"So what happened? During the forest of death and to you guys to get you so worn out..." I asked. The tension in the air suddenly became thick, and I heard one of them nervously gulp.  
"Well.." Sakura began. "We had to beat another ninja squad, and steal their scrolls. We needed to collect one Earth and one Heaven scroll to pass." She explained. "That... that's how we ended up so, worn out. We had to fight a lot..." she said trailing off. She was hiding something I knew it by the nervous tone of her voice.  
"I see... so why is that you two are just tired but Sasuke seems pretty much dead?" I asked in a stern tone. The tension grew even worse after that, as if I just hit a nail right on the head.  
"Sasuke.. protected Sakura and I. Yup, Sakura and I were too weak to do anything and Sasuke had to save us as usual." Naruto said rather quickly, even for him. My eyes narrowed, something was up.  
"Right. Well, Naruto you watch Sasuke for a minute Sakura can you walk me to the bathrooms?" I suggested, turning my head towards Sakura.  
"Oh, right sure..." She said. I stood up from my sitting position on the floor in front of Sasuke and Sakura took my arm and lead me through a maze of ninja's into the bathroom. When we got in there, I turned towards her.  
"Alright you're all hiding something, so spill."

"Mayu, nothing happened honest." She stated. I rolled my eyes. "Oh please Sakura I know something's up. You get all nervous when you lie and that's exactly what you're doing now. And on top of that Naruto said that he was weak and that Sasuke was the hero, which would _never_ happen unless he was covering something up so tell me what really happened..."  
Sakura let out a sigh, which meant that I had won the arguement.  
"Alright.. but Sasuke made us promise not to tell you so you can't let on that you know, alright?" She said. I nodded. "Promise!"  
Sakura took in a deep breath, and then continued.  
"Inside the forest of death we were attacked by three grass ninja's. One turned out to me some guy named Orochimaru in disguise, and this Orochimaru guy bit Sasuke on the shoulder leaving him with this weird bruise. Afterwards when three sound ninja's attacked us, the bruise spread all over Sasuke's body and he became really strong and took them all out within seconds. It was ... scary."  
I was silent after her story . All of it was hard to take in, it didn't make any sense. But then again, I knew something bad was going to happen to Sasuke. And I was right.  
"Thank you for telling me Sakura... I won't tell anyone I know I promise. Just... make sure Sasuke is safe for me.. alright?"  
"I promise. Let's get back before they start to worry." Sakura suggested, taking my arm. I nodded. "Okay."

When we exited the bathroom, the room was silent except for some guy talking to everyone. It sounded important.  
"Alright. This year, twice as many ninja's passed the second stage as we expected. With that being said, we will host a preliminary round." He paused, and began to cough. After his coughin fit, he cleared his throat and then continued. "Pairs will be matched up by random selection and then they will fight until one gives up, can no longer fight or dies. The winner will advance to the finals."  
I gulpd. '..or dies.'  
"Now, for the match ups..." He said.  
"Sakura, what's going on I can't see." I asked, tugging on her sleeve.  
"There selecting people to fight against one another.. let's see.  
First is Sasuke versus Yoroi Akaido.  
Second is Zaku Abumi, one of the sound ninja who attacked us, versus Shino.  
Then it's Misumi Tsurugi versus Kankuro, Gaara's older brother.  
Me versus Ino-pig is the next match up, alright cha! It's time to take her down!  
Next is Tenten versus Temari, Gaara's older sister,  
Shikamaru versus Kin Tsuchi is next.  
Naruto against Kiba, uh-oh that can't be good..  
Hinata against Neji, poor Hinata..  
Rock Lee against.. oh-no Gaara!  
And finally, Choji versus Dosu Kinuta."  
When she finished listing off the match ups I felt sick. 'So many terrible things are going to happen... Sasuke has to fight in this condition, Hinata has to fight Neji and then It's Lee against Gaara.'  
"Alright." The guy began again. I am Hayate Gekko and I'll be the proctor for the third part of the exam. You all have one hour to rest up before the match starts."

Sakura and I walked acrossed the room towards where Sasuke and Naruto were. When we got there, Sasuke was gone.  
"Where's Sasuke?" I asked.  
"He went to look for Kakashi-sensei." Naruto told me. "He should be back soon."  
I frowned. 'So it looks like my fears are all coming true...' I thought to myself.  
If I couldn't talk to Sasuke I would go find Gaara. He was someone I could talk to, and hopefully I could convince him not to hurt Lee too bad..


	8. Chapter 8: Trust Issues

Finding Gaara wasn't much of a challenge for me.  
He was actually lurking somewheres nearby. The only awkward part was he had his squad and sensei with him.  
"Gaara, can we go for a walk?" I asked when I got close to him. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoudler as I spoke to him so that I knew he was there in front of me.  
I heard a few gasps coming from the other side of Gaara, which meant that my assumption about him not being very social must have been correct.  
He didn't say anything to me, he just turned and began walking away. I assumed he wanted me to follow him so I gimped after him as fast as I could. When I caught up to him, I held onto his arm to avoid losing him.  
As Gaara and I walked away, I felt numerous pairs of eyes on us. I assumed they belonged to his siblings and sensei.  
I also felt a few more curious gazes on us from people I didn't know. Sasuke's eyes were also on us.  
There was one pair of eyes on us that gave me chills. They felt foreign, but yet familiar in a way. I couldn't quite place it.  
When Gaara stopped moving, I turned towards him. I let go of his arm.  
"It's about your match up..." I began. I took a deep breath, trying to think of the rights words to say. I have a feeling Gaara is a ticking time bomb who could explode at any moment for any reason.  
"You are worried about your friend?" He asked with slight amusement in his tone.  
I bit my lip.  
"Well... we're not best friends but yes he is my friend and, well, I can't ask you not to hurt him obviously. But... please don't kill him. For me." I lifted my eyes up towards what I was hoping was his face. As I lifted my gaze, an emotion welled up inside me I never felt before. I held my eyes where they were and let them stare at whatever was in front of them. For some reason, I felt as if Gaara and I were making eye contact, something I haven't done in ten years. A feeling like electricity surged through my body and my breath caught in my throat.  
"I can't promise you anything." Gaara spoke, catching me off guard. I remembered to breath at that moment and took in a deep breath.  
"Alright.. just, please try. That's all I ask." I said, refusing to move my eyes from their position. Gaara made some sort of humming noise with his throat, and I wasn't entirely sure what that meant.  
I opened my mouth to say something else, but the presence of four bodies of chakra caught my attention.  
"Gaara!" "Mayu!" A chorus of voices rang out in harmony.

I tore my gaze away from Gaara towards the chakra I knew better than anyone elses, and as soon as I did so the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach faded away and I was left feeling empty.  
"Sasuke! Where have you been I couldn't find you.." I said, relieved he was okay. Sasuke made some sort of snorting noise.  
"Right, by the looks of things you didn't miss me one bit." He said coldly. I flinched.  
"What.. what are you saying?" I asked, fighting back tears.  
"You know what I mean! Everytime I look around you're with him. You don't think I knew you two were together at the lake? What do you take me for a fool?" Sasuke yelled, grabbing my shoulders.  
A seperate conversation was going on behind me.  
"Gaara, Baki-sensei has been looking for you." A female voice said. She sounded scared.  
"Yeah, he wants to talk to us before the preliminaries begin." A male voice said, he sounded like he was trying to be tough but in reality was just as scared as the female.  
Gaara gave them no reply, but I heard his footsteps walk by me followed by the male and female who were talking just moments ago.  
I averted my attention back to Sasuke.  
"We're just friends that's all-"  
"Friends? Really Mayu, you think he wants to be your friend?" He spat bitterfly. "That guy is nothing but bad news. He'd sooner skin you alive than call you a friend."  
I couldn't take it anymore. I had done nothing wrong, all I wanted was someone else to talk to while my friends were away training to become ninjas.  
"Don't yell at me!" I yelled pulling away from Sasuke. "I did nothing wrong. I was lonely that's all, and he was someone to talk to. Is it so wrong for me to try and make new friends Sasuke?"  
"Why do you need new ones when you have perfectly good ones already? Honestly you can't just approach random people and start calling them frien-"  
"I talk to Gaara because he doesn't smother me!" I yelled. The room went silent, and I was pretty sure they were all listening.  
Sasuke said nothing, I must have stunned him. I wanted to end this conversation here and now.  
"Gaara doesn't smother me like you do Sasuke! He doesn't confine me to certain areas, he doesn't forbid me from going places or from talking to people. HE doesn't stalk me on daily basis and freak out when I try to go for a walk alone, and me most certainly doesn't treat me like a child! That's all you do, that's all you've ever done Sasuke Uchiha is treat me like a child! It's always, 'Don't leave the house Mayu you could die. Don't go into the woods Mayu you could get kidnapped. You're blind Mayu don't wander too far away from your apartment. Mayu, don't make new friends because they could secretly be rapists.' Well I'm sorry if the leash you've had me on for 8 years has broke Sasuke, I truly am."  
By then the tears I've been forcing back had broke free and I was bawling. Unable to face him anymore I ran past him, bumping his shoulder on the way, and acrossed the room towards Kakashi-sensei. I knew he was guarding the exit out of this place, and I wanted out!  
I probably looked pretty sad. Imagine, a blind girl with a tear stained face hobbling in a random direction hoping for the best.  
What a sad state indeed.


	9. Chapter 9: Itachi Uchiha

So here I sat, alone at a table. My face stained in tears, my leg sore from running. My heart felt like it had been torn in pieces.

Kakashi-sensei lead me outside of the building after witnessing my fight with Sasuke. I told him I didn't feel like spectating right now and that I wanted to be alone.  
He took me to the local cafe and sat me down at a table, returning to spectate the preliminaries after ordering me a cup of tea.  
I sighed, and took a miserable sip out of my cup.  
'What is wrong with my life?' I thought to myself. 'Why is everything suddenly going so bad?' I closed my eyes, they were sore and raw from crying.  
'I knew something bad was going to happen. And it is...' I took another sip. 'There's a strange ninja lurking about Konoha who's after Sasuke. Sasuke's lying to me, and now...' My stomach felt like it had an entire army of butterflies fluttering around inside of it. 'Now he doesn't trust me, and I yelled at him...'  
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't hear somebody sit down in the seat acrossed from me, nor did I sense the chakra of the two people sitting beside of me.

"What's wrong?" I heard from acrossed my table. I jumped, my heart was beating a million miles an hour.  
"Iruka-sensei!" I exclaimed happily. I really did adore Iruka-sensei, he was the kindest ninja in Konoha, besides Hinata anyways.  
"What's wrong Mayu, it's not lke you to cry." He said warmly. I heard a scraping noise and then felt his hand on my face with something warm and fuzzy pressed between my cheek and his skin. A napkin.  
I smiled, and placed my hand over it, taking it from him and using it to wipe my face.  
"It's... a lot of stuff. I don't know if I.. should tell you.." I said, trailing off.  
"Mayu you can tell me anything." Iruka assured me, placing his hand on mine. I lifted my eyes towards what I hoped was his face. He was right though, I can tell Iruka-sensei anything. And I should, keeping things bottled up inside isn't healthy. I took a deep breath,  
"It's about.. Sasuke and the Chunin exams." I began. I could hear the two men sitting beside me who were quietly chatting amongst themselves suddenly grow quiet, and I heard the clink of them setting their teacups down on the plates beneath them. Their eyes were glued on me.  
"Sasuke? And the Chunin exams? Mayu if you're worried he'll fail then-" "It's no that." I cut him off. He grew quiet, he wanted me to continue.  
"Sasuke was in a lot of pain when he emerged from the forest of death." I began. "He told me that, some ninja's beat them up but I knew he was lying. I asked Sakura about it and..." I bit my lip. Should I tell him? Was this important information?  
"And?" Iruka asked, his interest was peaked and he wanted me to continue. 'Someone is after Sasuke you have to tell someone.'  
"She told me that, a man attacked Sasuke in the forest. He.. bit him apparently and left a bruise. She said it spread and caused him to grow stronger, but she also said he... became scary. He's been acting strange ever since."  
"A man... bit him?" Iruka repeated. Judging by his voice, he had a million thoughts racing through his head and none of them were good. I nodded.  
"Yeah.. she said his name was.. Oro..Orochimaru."  
As soon as I said his name I heard Iruka slam his hands on the table, startling me. I knocked my teacup over and it spilled all over the floor.  
"Orochimaru? Are you sure, are you sure that was his name?" Iruka demanded. I was scared now, so all I could do was nod.  
Iruka sighed heavily and then I heard him bend over and pick up my teacup. He asked somebody to clean up the mess and he then lifted me up from my chair by my arm.  
"What.. what's wrong Iruka-sensei?" I asked, even more scared than ever.  
"This is bad. If this man is who you said he is... Mayu, I want you to stay around town but don't go too far alright? I have to go see the Hokage, I might need you as a witness." He said. I was about to ask him something but he turned and ran, his chakra fading fast.  
I turned to walk home, but before I could take a step further somebody was blocking my path.

There was two of them, and judging by their chakra they were strong. They were obviously foreign ninja's because they were very unfamiliar to me. But the one on the left seemed familiar to me, like I had known them at one time in my life, but then they went away. It was a difficult feeling place, but it made me uneasy.  
"Excuse me..." I said, bowing towards them getting ready to leave, hoping to avoid a confrontation. Before I got the chance to get very far, one of them stuck out his arm and stopped me. It was a strong arm, covered in a long dangly sleeve. I turned my head towards him and a strong feeling of fear and panic welled up inside of me. 'I shouldn't be here...' I thought to myself, I was beginning to panic.  
"Tell me Mayu, how is Sasuke?" The man spoke in a calm and emotionless tone. My eyes widened. I knew that voice...

_Sasuke and I went for a walk through town. It had rained heavily this past week so our usual hide-away spot was horribly flooded so we had to go somewheres else.  
My eyes were sore and my leg hurt which made every single step a struggle for me, but I couldn't tell Sasuke, I didn't wanna spoil his day even further.  
He had a rough day, his father was still comparing him to his older brother Itachi which made Sasuke feel worthless. Itachi put him through intense and rigorous training earlier today and he was worn out and exhausted.  
"I wanna be as great as Itachi someday.." Sasuke beamed, holding onto my hand as we walked. I smiled, he really looked up to his brother. He was his idol.  
"I'm sure if you try hard enough you'll be just as great if not better than Itachi someday, trust me." I said squeezing his hand. I heard Sasuke sigh happily beside me, which made me smile. When he was happy, I was happy.  
"Mayu, do you wanna be a ninja?" Sasuke asked me. My heart sank, and I frowned.  
"I don't know..." I said sadly. "I don't know.." Sasuke stopped walking, as did I. I turned to face him, wondering why he had stopped. He reached out and took my free hand in his, my heart began to do backflips in my chest.  
"What do you mean.. you don't know?" He asked sadly.  
"My eyes will heal eventually. The doctor says I'll have some vision but.. I know that he's wrong, I'm going to be permanently blind. Even if I do end up completely blind I could still became a ninja but... my leg is bad, and my body is weak. I might not be able to become a ninja, if my leg doesn't heal properly." I said, tears threatening to fall. I had to hold them back though, even though I've been blind for a year now, my wound still felt fresh and my eyes were still raw and tender.  
Sasuke pulled me into a hug. "You'll become a ninja someday, I know you will. And even if you can't be come a ninja, I'll become a great ninja just for you! I promise!" He said. I smiled into his hug, he was so sweet. The sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention and I lifted my head towards the sound as did Sasuke.  
"Itachi!" Sasuke yelled happily. 'Itachi..?' That was Sasuke's brother's name.  
"Hello little brother. Who's your friend..?" Itachi asked, his voice was soft and emotionless.  
"This is Mayu, my.. girlfriend." Sasuke said the last part with a giggle. He was embarassed, as was I. My face was starting to heat up.  
"I see... You shouldn't make promises you can't keep Sasuke." Itachi said coldly. I heard Sasuke yelp and my stoamch began to turn. 'What was he saying?'  
"Wh..what do you mean, big brother?" Sasuke asked, trying to hold back tears. I heard Itachi walk closer to Sasuke and stand in front of him. The tension was growing.  
"You'll never be a great ninja, little brother. Especially if you're tied down to a blind girl who can't even walk properly. She's obviously very unfortunate and will never be able to hold her own weight. As long as you're with her, you'll always be weak. You'll never succeed and you'll never be a great ninja."  
I've never seen Sasuke cry as hard as he did that day, and even then I couldn't stop my own tears from falling. Ever single tear caused me so much pain but I couldn't help it, deep down I knew he was right. I was going to drag Sasuke down eventually.._

"Itachi.. Uchiha." I said, unable to hide the surprise and worry in my voice. A deep chuckle came from beside me.  
"So you remember me. How long has it been, Mayu? Nine, ten years? I see you're still blind... what a shame." Itachi said just as coldly as he had before.  
I clenched my jaw, he made my blood boil. I haven't seen Itachi since that day, that was the first and only time I ever saw Itachi Uchiha. About a year later he slaughtered his entire family.  
"What do you want with me, just let me leave I'm of no use to you." I said harshyl, trying to walk away. But just as before his arm held me in place, he wanted something from me.  
"I asked you a question, how is Sasuke?" He asked. He obviously wasn't going to let me go anytime soon so I figured if I answered his questions he would hopefully leave me alone..  
"Sasuke is fine." I said sharply. Itachi chuckled again, he didn't buy it.  
"That's funny, last I heard he was a mess. I hear Orochimaru got to him, that's good for him. He'll make him stronger, he could use the extra power boost." Itachi said with a hint of amusement in his town. The man beside him stepped forward, and I could smell fish and human blood on him.  
"Come on Itachi why waste your time on such a broken human being? We're not here to play 50 questions." He spoke, his voice was very annoying.  
"Calm Kisame. This girl is the long time girlfriend of my beloved little brother. I was just catching up, seeing how Sasuke was doing. After all, I can't very well ask him myself. As soon as he sees me he's going to charge with his fists flying like a maniac without letting me get so much of a 'Hello' in." He said. This was just one big joke to him, If I wasn't to crippled and short I would have punched them both in the mouth.  
"Suit yourself." Came the annoying voice of this, Kisame guy. Judging by the way he smelled and the way he sounded, my inability to see his face was more of a luxury at the moment. The two of them were getting to be annoying, and I didn't really want to stick around much longer. Sasuke's brother was in town and he needed to know, atleast.. I think he did.  
"If you don't mind I must be going. Really... " I said, ducking under Itachi's arm and limping away as fast as my leg would allow me to go. As I was running away, I heard Itachi laugh.  
My day just got a whole lot worse didn't it?

Once I was far enough from Itachi that his chakra was just a speck, I collapsed on the ground. My leg hurt a lot from running and the fact that I just fell on it didn't help either, but right now I didn't care. My mind was wandering aimlessly now, and I couldn't stop it.  
'What's going on?... First, Orochimaru comes after Sasuke now Itachi Uchiha is back in town.'  
I raised my head to the sky, feeling the heat on my face. 'I wish I knew what the sunlight looked like.'  
The sound of windchimes caught my attention. 'Am I.. home?' I asked myself, standing up.  
I began to walk towards the sound. I didn't think I was anywheres near our apartment, but maybe I subconciously lead myself here.  
After a few steps, when the sound became the loudest, my foot collided with something. Our front steps. Sighing in relief I began to slowly and painfully climb the steps, my bedroom being my destination.  
"I need a nap..." I said to myself, grasping the doorknob and forcing the door open. "I really need a nap.."  
I limped down the hall into my room, and into my room throwing myself onto the bed. I didn't bother changing my clothes, or even sliding under the covers. I laid ontop of the sheets still in my dress, kicking my shoes off as best as I could. Hearing the satisfying "clunk" of my shoes hitting my floor, I rolled over in bed so I was facing the window. This is the way I like to sleep.  
"I wonder how they're all doing.." I asked myself out loud, thinking about the preliminaries that were currently underway. "I wish I could have been there... to see what was going on. I hope they're all okay" I let out a deep breath, "Will Sasuke ever forgive me?"  
My eyelids were getting heavy. All that crying and running today tired me out, I guess I needed this nap.  
"What's going to happen next?" Was the last thing I said before sleep completely took over.


	10. Chapter 10: Why Didn't You Kill Me?

I woke up to very loud obnoxious banging on the door.  
I groaned and rolled over. I had no idea what time it was, nor did I care. The point is, somebody is beating on my door!  
I groggily sat up in my bed, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The banging on my door just got louder and more urgent, and I grew more and more irritated with each bang. I stood up and limped acrossed the room, feeling the walls along the way until I found the door out of my room. Once I found it, it was just a simple journey through the kitchen to the front door.  
When I got there, I was plotting the death of whoever was at the door. 'I swear if it's the mailman again I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind..'  
I swung open the door to reveal...

"Naruto!" I yelled at the familiar chakra in front of me. I was ashamed that I didn't notice it sooner.  
"What in the world are you doing?!" I practically yelled at him. He was panting, and his chakra was worn down which meant the preliminaries just ended and he was released, that or he got in a fight with some innocent bystander he thought he could beat-up again.  
"I... came to... tell you... what happened... while you were... gone." He said between breaths. Right then and there I wondered how he ended up becoming a ninja.  
"Naruto, this is your house too... why didn't you just come in and wake me up instead of beating on the door?" I asked bluntly.  
"Oh... hehe guess I forgot." He said laughing sheepishly. Yawning I rubbed my eyes sleepily and stepped aside to let him in. I felt my way over to the cupboard and took out a glass to get him a drink. I heard the chair move from behind me as Naruto sat down.  
"Now Mayu.." He began. "Promise me you won't freak out?" I was reaching for the icecubes in our freezer when he said this. I froze, this wasn't going to be good.  
"I promise... now tell me, what happened."  
Naruto took a deep breath. "Sasuke won his match." He said. I sighed in relief but something told me there was more.  
"I know Sakura told you everything.. The bruise that Orochimaru gave him grew, and he ended up with super-human strength. It was scary Mayu, It's like... It's like he isn't even Sasuke anymore." Naruto told me. I stopped what I was doing, and listened to the gentle hiss of the water as it flowed form our tap. What he was telling me was a little hard to take in all at once.  
"Want me to go on?" He asked a little nervously. I nodded, and stuck the glass topped with ice under the tap.  
"Sakura and Ino ended up knocking each other out so nobody won that match. I beat Kiba of course, but there was never any doubt that I would! I'm just way too strong for a guy like him you know?" He said, laughing like he actually believed what he said. I forced a small smile upon my face and shook my head, he probably won by accident or something.  
"Shino won, so did those sand genin Temari and Kankuro. The creepy sound ninja named Dosu won as well, I can't stand him.." I turned towards Naruto, holding the glass out towards him. I heard the chair squeak as he got up to come claim it.  
"Shikamaru won of course, that show off.. and Neji..." He paused, I felt the anger coming off of him. Something bad must have happened to Hinata.. Just the mere thought of what Neji could do to her caused my stomach to turn.  
"Just tell me who won, Naruto." I said as calmly as I could. Inside, I was freaking out.  
Naruto took the water from me.  
"Neji won." He said, and I knew that was all he was going to tell me. That's all I wanted to hear right not anways.  
"And... Gaara?" I asked. My voice was thick with worry, there was no telling what he could have done to Lee. I heard Naruto choke on his water.  
I waited for a reply, but for a few moments I recieved nothing, but instead heard the obnoxious gulping noises Naruto was making as he downed his water.  
When he was done, I heard a satisfied sigh then the clink of a cup hitting another hard surface. Naruto walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, something he only did when he was about to hit me with bad news.  
"That guy is a monster Mayu..." Naruto said bitterfly.

My eyes widened. 'Why does eveyone say that?'  
"You should have seen it Mayu.. actually, I'm glad you couldn't have seen it even if you were there! It was terrible, the way he treated Lee. He had this look in his eyes, like all he wanted to do was kill him slowly and painfully, and he enjoyed all the pain he caused him. He uses sand as a weapon, and he used it to crush almost every bone in Lee's body. If Guy didn't step in, he surely would have.." Naruto stopped himself, there was really no words to describe how angry he was right now.  
"Even after the preliminaries, when Lee was in recovery.. he went into his room and tried to kill him. If Shikamaru and I didn't show up he would have killed him for sure." He said..  
I didn't know what to say after that, my mind was still trying to process everything that Naruto had just told me.  
"He uses... sand?" I repeated, remembering the day at the lake.

_"I'm sorry I shouldn't pry in on your personal life. We don't have to talk about it." I assured him. He was still very tense, I felt something begin to creep up my arms like a snake. Usually, I would freak out, but right now I had a feeling Gaara was doing this somehow and I had to calm him down.  
"How did you know?" He asked, in a freakishly angry voice. My eyes widened for a second, but went back to being soft.  
"I can just tell." I said. But this answer obviously wasn't the one he wanted to hear, because more of the stuff began to creep up my body.  
"Your chakra is strong, overwhelming actually. I've only ever met one other person with chakra that strong, and he was a Jinchuriki. That's how I knew." I explained. This seemed to clam him down, I felt one of my arms free themselves and a portion of my body as well. But my left arm and from the waist down was still covered in whatever it was._

'So that must have been sand I was covered with. Then that means.. Gaara tried to kill me?'  
_"He's a fool because he wastes his time caring about others. Those who waste their time on others end up becoming weak, and will eventually die as a result of that weakness. I live my life for me, and myself only, and my goal in life is to wipe out every single human being on this planet... including you."_  
_I wanted answers and he was going to give them to me."_  
Gaara's words from the lake replayed through my mind.  
But if he was really a monster like everyone says he is, and if he really did those things to Lee, then why didn't he kill me back then?  
I had to find out.  
Walking past Naruto I hurried out the door.  
As I limped down the stairs I could hear Naruto calling out to me, but I didn't care I had to find Gaara.  
I could sense his chakra, even where I was now and I knew exactly where he was.

Gaara was exactly where I thought he was; at the lake where we first met.  
I slowly limped towards him until his chakra felt like he was right below me, he was sitting on the edge of the lake, not moving or speaking. I couldn't even hear him breathe.  
"Why didn't you kill me back then?" I asked him. I felt his gaze on me almost instantly. He usually doesn't acknowledge my existence this fast, this time I must have got his attention. He didn't say anything, but that was alright I had more questions for him anyways.  
"I know what you did to Lee. Naruto told me... I also know you can control sand, and that's what you used to cover me lastime we were here. You were going to kill me weren't you?" I paused and shakily took a breath. "Why didn't you kill me back then? Why don't you kill me now?" I demanded.  
Gaara stood up after that, I heard the scuffing of his feet against the dirt below and then the swift sound of him walking on the grass towards me. When he stopped, we were very close, so close there was no space between us. I could feel the heat from his body, his every curve, his breath on my face..  
"Why do you care?" He asked, amusement in his tone. I lifted my eyes and instantly became overwhelmed with the same feeling as before when our eyes had met. I stared into his eyes with intensity and fearlessness, even if I couldn't really see them.  
"Because I want to know. If you wanted to kill Lee, if you love to kill as much as you say you do then why spare me? What makes me so special?" I asked, angrier than ever.  
Gaara made a small grunting noise, as if he was chuckling but didn't want anybody to hear it. Was he mocking me?  
"I honestly don't know." He said. "I wanted to kill you. When you first bumped into me I wanted nothing more than to squeeze the life out of you." He said, in a soft tone. Startled by his words I backed away from him creating distance between us. "But, for some reason I didn't. I couldn't do it.. I was weak, and it appears I still am."  
He took a few steps forward, closing the space between us once more. "I've grown somewhat attached to you. You talk to me as if we're best friends, and you don't seem to be scared of me in any way. I've never been attached to anybody before, besides one person but.. I betrayed me and let's just say he's now burries six feet under." I didn't take a step back this time, I stood my ground. I wanted to hear what he had to say.  
"I have a strange attraction to you Mayu." Gaara said. "I have yet to figure out what it is, but whatever it is.. it's keeping me from killing you." He said, before walking past me. When he tore his gaze away from mine the feelings once again vanished leaving me stunned.

I don't remember my walk from the lake to the village, but the whole time his words were playing through my head like a song on repeat.

"_I've grown somewhat attached to you."_

_"I have a strange attraction to you Mayu. I have yet to figure out what it is but, whatever it is.. it's keeping me from killing you."_

"What does this mean..?" I asked myself, lifting my face towards the sky. I was still unsure what time it was, I didn't even know if it was night or day, nor did I care.  
My life used to be perfect, I had the best friends in the world, an amazing boyfriend, and a daily routine that was still satisfying no matter how many times I did it. But now.. my friends are fighting for their lives against ninja's that I'm not even sure they stand a chance against, my whole routine is out of wack, Sasuke and I are fighting and now I'm developing strange feelings for Gaara that I'm not even sure what they are yet.  
"What do I do?" I asked the sky, hoping for an answer.  
I received no reply.


	11. Chapter 11: Under The Tree

I was very happy today.

I sat under a very big tree in the middle of a field surrounded by trees, isolated from everybody else. I found this place by mistake while going for a walk this morning, and I loved it.  
I sat leaned up against the tree, my eyes closed relaxing, enjoying the heat from the sun upon my face. I was wearing a simple sleeveless summer dress with a v-neck. It went down just above my knees and had a corset pattern in the front with a cute bow tied at the top. I had no idea what colour I was wearing, for all I know it was leopard print. I wore a lacey tank-top underneath so my cleavage wouldn't show, not that I had much to show anyways.  
I wasn't a big fan of skanky clothing.

The final part of the Chunin exams would begin exactly one month from yesterday.  
And Sasuke was nowheres to be found... I hadn't seen him in three days.  
Naruto told me he was off somewheres training.. he could have atleast told me where he was going. But it was expected of him, he hasn't spoken to me much since our fight.  
We apologized to each other, and hugged but that was it. Every other time I crossed his path or went to the Uchiha compound to talk to him he was silent, didn't say much, and wasn't very emotional either. It was as if we were just friends...  
My leaning post shifted suddenly jolting me awake, as I had dozed off. I lifted my head, listening to his breathing. He wasn't sleeping, as he couldn't sleep but I could tell he was relaxing. Smiling I put my head back down on his shoulder and closed my eyes, listening to the birds singing once again.  
I had ran into Gaara earlier this morning and we went for a walk together. We ended up at this place and decided to sit and talk. He wasn't much of a talker but I did learn a little more about him.

_"..and I found out it was Yashamaru."  
Gaara finished his story. I wanted to cry by the end of it but I held my tears back and stayed strong. He had just opened up and told me about his childhood, how he was mistreated and nobody wanted to be his friend. His only friend was his uncle Yashamaru, but he ended up betraying Gaara and tried to kill him. Gaara was scared and killed him not knowing who it was.  
"That's terrible I'm so sorry." I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. Gaara didn't say anything, I don't think he cared. __  
"Tell me something about you." Gaara said in his usual tone.  
"I never had any friends growing up either. My clan was isolated to the mansion we lived in and the grounds surrounding it. My only friends were my cousins, but they were years older than me so I guess they weren't really friends, more like babysitters...  
The first time I got to leave the grounds and actually talk to someone and make friends was after everybody died." I told him. He stayed silent again, but I knew he was listening.  
"I see.." Was his only reply. I smiled, and sat down beside the tree we were standing beside. I knew it was there because Gaara stopped me from walking straight into it only moments before.  
Gaara sat down beside me and I rested my head on his shoulder. He tensed up at first, but eventually he relaxed and let me lay there._

I turned towards Gaara, linking my arms through his to get more comfortable. He didn't seem to mind, he was growing more and more accepting towards my touchie-feelie advances these days. He even let me pat him down to see what he looked like.  
He had short messy hair, which he told me was red. His face was round and smooth, and he had no eyebrows. I didn't question him about that.  
There was a rough patch of skin in the far-right corner of his forehead which confused me, and he explained he had a tattoo that was the kanji for "love." Most girls would have thought that to be beautiful but I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, I never learned how to read and now that I'm blind It's too late for me to learn.  
He said his eyes were teal, and told me he has dark rings around them due to being an insomniac and for also having the one-taild racoon demon Shukaku sealed away inside of him. His appearance was extremely foreign to me, but if I ever got the chance to see him for myself I would probably think he was beautiful.  
"Your siblings have been watching us for the past hour. Don't they get bored?" I asked Gaara, gesturing in a random direction in which his siblings chakra was coming from.  
"No. They're too simple minded and retarded to get bored." He replied calmly. It took all I had to avoid busting out laughing at his comment, Gaara wasn't a fan of laughter.  
Gaara's siblings, who I learned are Temari and Kankuro, followed us into the woods and have been watching us from the trees since we sat down. It was rather annoying at first, then it was amusing for a while. Now it was a little pathetic..  
"How long are they gonna sit there...?" I asked him feeling very creeped out.  
Gaara didn't say anything. I didn't wanna bother him about it anymore, and I turned to lean my head on his shoulder once again but a sound distracted me. It sounded like slithering, or something crawling through the grass. I wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded very familiar..  
Suddenly, in the distance I heard a loud bang and then a lot of screaming. After the screaming was done, hurried footsteps and breaking branches could be heard retreating into the woods and then Gaara's sibling's chakra slowly faded away.  
"They're gone." He said emotionlessly. I could hear the familiar hissing sound onc again and then the pop of a cork. This time I couldn't help but laugh, he was just so calm and emotionless when he spoke that some of the things that came out of his mouth were almost comical. It was cute.  
"Sorry, I won't laugh anymore..." I said with a smile before resuming my position on Gaara's shoulder.  
It turned out my nap lastnight started at 6pm and ended at 3:30am, when I took off after Gaara. I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards and I was extremely tired. Being as tired as I was, I drifted off to sleep within seconds, listening to the sound of Gaara's breathing and the whistling of the wind.

_** When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a river. I looked down to see the crystal blue waters rushing past me carrying pieces of debree with them.**_  
_** Wait.. I could see?**_  
_** I blinked rapidly, as my eyes focused on my surroundings. I could see! I could really see!**_  
_** The evergreen trees that surrounded me were beautiful, the red, blue and yellow birds that danced in and out of their branches made my breath catch in my throat. I pulled a lock of my hair in front of my face, wavy and brown. My dress, pure white with a red bow.**_  
_** Tears began to fall from my eyes.. I was so happy, I looked down into the water to catch a glimpse of my reflection.**_  
_** But instead of seeing a happy brunette with tearstained eyes staring back at me, I instead saw a man.**_  
_** He was wearing a white robe of some sort, opened in the front to expose his front. A strange purple rope tied around his waist and made an upside down bow in the back. His hair, black and spikey. He has his back to me...**_  
_** I went to wave my hand through the water to disperse his reflection but before I could he turned to look at me.**_  
_** I gasped at what I saw.**_  
_** His eyes were blood-red with little black swirls in the middle. His face was pure anger and hatred.**_  
_**I've never seen this man before, but yet he looked so familiar. **_  
_**I knew in my heart I have met him before, but the question is... where?**_  
_**"Mark my words Gaara, I will kill you with my bare hands."**_

Those words woke me up in a panic.  
I woke up with a startled jolt. Was that all just a dream? I really could see though... The images were still fresh in my mind, the first things I've ever seen in ten years, even if it was just a dream. I was so happy I could cry.  
Reality sunk in when I felt a familiar chakra fading into the distance. 'Sasuke...' My happiness vanished instantly.  
I reached beside me for Gaara, but I could no longer feel him there and I became scared that I was alone in the woods.  
Slowly I tried to stand up but one leg was asleep and the other was permanently injured which caused me a great amount of difficulty. I felt some strange substance wrap around me and lift me to my feet, which I knew instantly by the texture that it was Gaara's sand. I sighed in relief, knowing he was still here with me.  
"What's going on?!" I asked, searching for his body with my sightless eyes. A presense suddenly appeared beside me I reached out and found his hands, holding on for reassurance. He tensed up and became very awkward at my touch but I ignored it. He'll have to get used to it.  
"Uchiha was here." Gaara said bitterly. I turned towards him. "He was mad, but not about us being together.. He was mad over... something else."  
I frowned. 'So Sasuke was here and he didn't bother to say anything to me..?' I thought sadly to myself. My heart felt heavy, were we even a couple anymore?  
Even though I was sleeping I still would have liked to talk to him, there's so much I wanted to ask him, so much I wanted to say. So many things I wanted to hit him with...  
Gaara must have sensed I was having a mental battle with myself because he squeezed my hand to comfort me. It was a small squeeze, but it was still there and it showed that he was trying. It made me smile.  
"He said he's going to kill me during our fight." He said. I blinked in confusion. "Your.. fight?"  
I had no idea what Gaara meant by their fight, did they organize a brawl against one another?  
"Uchiha and I were assigned to spar in the final stage of the Chunin exams. I look forward to it.." Gaara said in a tone that sent shivers up my spine. He could send shivers up even Lady Tsunade's spine with that tone..  
I frowned. Naruto failed to mention that to me, he was going to get an ear full when I saw him next.

My head began to hurt at the thought of Sasuke and Gaara fighting each other until one was either beaten into immobility or worse.. killed.  
Even though it would kill me to watch, or in my case listen to, I had to be present for the final fight.  
It may very well be my last chance to talk to Sasuke, even if it is a month away...

*This chapter sucks I'm sorry. I edited this sooo many times It's not funny.. x_X


	12. Chapter 12: Potential Make Up Chapter

As it turns out, I didn't have to wait that long to talk to Sasuke.  
I bumped into him walking home after hanging out with Gaara, literally bumped into him. I was so lost in my thoughts about where he might be and how to find him that I wasn't paying attention and ran face first into his back.  
"Ow! I'm so s-Sasuke?"  
"Mayu? What are you doing out to late?" He asked, pulling me into a hug. I was a bit shocked at first, he hasn't hugged me in a while and this was kinda nice. A smile crept onto my face as I wrapped my arms around his waist. It's been so long since anyone has hugged me, this felt nice.  
"I don't know what time it is Sasuke, I can't see the sky remember?" I joked. He chuckled and then let go of me.  
"I'm glad I found you, we need to talk." He said, grabbing my hand and guiding me away. I frowned, was this going to be a good talk or a bad talk?  
I wasn't entirely sure where we were going, I couldn't see or hear anything so it must have been pretty late at night.  
"Sasuke where are we going?" I asked him. "My house." He replied. 'So we're going to the Uchiha compound eh?' I thought to myself, 'Why does he wanna talk there? Why not out in public, or... somewheres else?' I was beginning to worry, was this going to be a bad talk, the talk I've been dreading about?

Sasuke stopped walking after a few minutes, and I heard a door slide open. I could have swore I felt Gaara's chakra lurking on the roof..  
He lead me inside, where I took off my shoes, then he took me through the house into his bedroom. I walked over and sat on his bed, and after hearing him slide his door shut he too joined me on the bed.  
"Sasuke what's wrong?" I asked him, searching with my eyes trying to find his face. I heard him chuckle.  
"Don't worry it's nothing bad, promise." he said kissing me on the forehead. I smiled, it seemed he was slowly returning to his normal self.  
"I want to know if you'll ever forgive me." Sasuke said. I looked towards his face, and within seconds my body felt warm and the familiar feelings I've only ever experienced with Gaara began to well up inside me. For some reason, It wasn't as strong... Within seconds he broke eye contact as did I and the feeling faded leaving me feeling a little empty inside.  
"What do you mean Sasuke?" I asked him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Forgive you for what?"  
"For acting the way I have been. You see, Mayu.." He began, reaching up and stroking my hair. "You know what I want to do. To become strong enough to avenge my clan. But, I don't feel like I'm strong enough yet. So I've been training a lot, training my hardest. I have to beat Gaara, he's one of my main obstacles right now and if I don't beat him then..." He paused and took a deep breath. I reached out and grabbed his hand. "I fear I won't ever be strong enough."  
"Sasuke don't talk like that." I said squeezing his hand. "You're the greatest genin in Konoha, there's no way Gaara can beat you." I said smiling at him,. "I have faith in you, you just need to believe in yourself like I do."  
"Thank you Mayu..." Sasuke said, pulling me closer so my head rested on his shoulder. He then put his own head on mine and held me tighter against him.  
"I guess I got so worked up about the Chunin exams I forgot about what's important." Sasuke said. I felt a hand stroking hair away from my face sending slight shivers acrossed my back but I didn't mind it, it was relaxing. He tilted my chin up and seconds later I felt his lips on mine. Smiling into the kiss I wrapped my hands around his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me closer.  
I felt his tongue force it's way between my lips and it made me giggle into the kiss. Sasuke smiled letting out a small laugh of his own. Our tongues battled for dominance for a few minutes until I gave up and accepted defeat. Sasuke and I made out for what must have been fifteen minutes before we finally parted for air.  
Sasuke rested his forehead against mine, I could feel his breath on my face as he breathed heavily. "Stay the night?" He asked kissing me on the nose. I smiled.  
"Of course."

Sasuke gave me a pair of his clothes to wear, which consisted of a pair of shorts 40 times to baggy for me and a T-shirt of equal baggyness. I had to use Sasuke's toothbrush because I came over totally unprepared to sleep here, but that was okay I've had his tongue in my mouth many times so using his toothbrush wasn't too much of a big deal I suppose. After brushing my teeth I tied my hair up in a messy bun, I hated sleeping with my hair down, and blindly found my way over to Sasuke's bed. It wasn't too much trouble finding it, even with his room being absolutely gigantic compared to mine. I simple felt around in the dark and slowly walked forwards until a part of my body collided with something.  
When I climbed into his bed, my freezing cold feet bumped against Sasuke's warm legs and instinctively I shoved them between his calves for warmth.  
"Mayu what are you doing your feet are freezing!" He yelled, rubbing his legs together trying to warm up my freezing cold toes. I laughed.  
"Not my fault." I said kissing him on the nose. He pulled me closer to him and I snuggled into his chest, admiring the scent of his fabric softener. "Someone's a downy man.." I said teasingly. He made some sort of mix between a chuckle and a groan and then nuzzled into my hair.  
I smiled, it was as if Sasuke never left. Never changed, things were going back to normal. I hoped.. but something told me I shouldn't get my hopes up just yet, and my instincts have never let me down before.  
"Sasuke?" I asked, wondering if he was still awake.  
"Mmm?" Was his reply. He was obviously tired and wanted to go to sleep so I decided to make this short.  
"Why didn't you talk to me earlier?" I asked him.  
"What do you mean?" He asked. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck and it made me shiver.  
"When Gaara and I were in the forest, why didn't you talk to me?" I asked again, hoping this time he wouldn't answer my question with another question.  
"Oh." He said. "When I got there you were sleeping against a tree and you had a smile on your face, you looked so peaceful, as if you were having the greatest dream of all time. Gaara was standing in front of the tree with his usual evil look on his face, so instead of bothering you I just confronted Gaara. Believe me I wanted nothing more than to pick you up and take you with me but I didn't want to wake you, I decided.. I should trust you. After all I've been gone a lot and Gaara seems to be keeping you company." He explained.  
I smiled, did he say he was going to trust me?  
I didn't say anything else after that, because Sasuke's breathing slowed down and I decided I was tired and wanted some sleep too.  
Gaara's chakra was still lurking about on the roof, his eyes burning into my flesh. But how? He was outside and I was inside..  
Before falling asleep I could have swore I smelled sand..


	13. Chapter 13: You And I Are Done

When I woke up, Sasuke was gone. I expected it, I liked to sleep in and he liked to get up early. I climbed out of bed, feeling around for my dress I was wearing the night before. After finding it I slipped out of Sasuke's clothes, and put my dress back on checking extra carefully to make sure I didn't put it on inside out.  
When I left the Uchiha compound I made sure to lock up using the spare key Sasuke kept in a hole covered in dirt under a rock behind a bush outside of his house.. He was extra careful about where he hid it.  
As I turned to leave I could feel Naruto's chakra closing in on me fast. He was probably worried about me not coming home lastnight.  
"Mayu!" I heard him yell, landing in front of me. Before I could open my mouth to speak, he went on a rant.  
"Mayu it was terrible! Sasuke's brother is in town and he came after me but before he could do anything Sasuke burst in out of nowheres and was all "Itachi!" and then they got in a huge fight and by fight I mean Sasuke tried to hit him but his brother ended up beating him without taking a single punch, and after Sasuke lost they talked a lot but I couldn't hear them because my ears were still ringing after being punched in the face but after they talked his brother vanished in a puff of smoke like what Kakashi-sensei does and then Sasuke got mad and ran away." Naruto said without taking a breath. I was sure his face was blue and he was going to pass out any minute now so I reached out and grabbed his shoulders.  
"Calm down and breathe Naruto!" I demanded shaking him gently. I heard him take several deep breaths in a row and then he seemed to calm down a bit after that.  
"Where's Sasuke?" I asked Naruto. "Here I'll bring you to him." He said, picking me up.

It didn't take us long to find Sasuke. He was at the training grounds, hitting something or someone really angrily.  
"Sasuke!" I yelled, hoping to catch his attention. Judging by the furious grunts and explosions he either didn't hear me or was ignoring me.  
Naruto set me down and I began to run as fast as my leg would let me towards Sasuke, Naruto hot on my heels. When the sounds of Sasuke hitting things got louder, I slowed to a walk trying to avoid bumping into him. He was mad and I really didn't wanna die today.  
"Sasuke, what's wrong talk to me?" I said, reaching out to touch his arm. When I found it, I only held it for a few seconds before he jerked it away startling me. "Sasuke..." I said quietly.  
"What do you both want?" He snapped.  
"Hey Sasuke what's your problem?!" I heard Naruto yell from behind me.  
"You two are my problems." Sasuke retorted, I heard something snap and break in front of him. And then he walked past me, bumping me with his shoulder quite hard as he passed. I let out a startled yelp.  
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.  
"Sasuke!" I yelled after him, "Sasuke please talk to me what's wrong?! I know you're mad but please talk to me..." I heard his footsteps stop, feeling his icy stare on my body. 'What is going on?' I thought to myself, worry and fear welling up inside me.  
"You want to know what's wrong, Mayu?" Sasuke asked coldly, walking towards me. I swallowed hard, something was going to happen and I wasn't going to like it.  
"You are what's wrong." My eyes widened. "Itachi once told me that you were weak, he said you would only slow me down, and that you were just one big accident just waiting to happen. It turns out he was right. You are weak, and that's why I'm weak. I'm weak because I'm tied down to you, because I'm always chasing after you, pretending like I care. Well no more pretending."  
I felt tears coming to my eyes. "What about lastnight, Sasuke? We talked, you apologized, we.. we.."  
"It doesn't matter to me anymore. All that matters is vengance. Everything I said lastnight, it doesn't mean a thing. It was all lies, I wanted you to think nothing was wrong with me before I left so you wouldn't expect it, but now I realize It doesn't matter what you think."  
The tears were flowing uncontrollably at this point.  
"You and I, we're done. I can't have you slowing me down anymore." He said, his footsteps picked up again.  
I heard Naruto yell things at him, they might have began fighting too I'm not sure, but I couldn't hear anything. My ears were buzzing, my eyes were sore and my tears wouldn't stop flowing. I was hoping I was dreaming, I wanted to wake up. I wanted to wake up, and find Sasuke laying beside me sleeping.  
But I knew this wasn't a dream.

I turned and ran. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I kept running. My leg hurt a lot but I didn't care, it could have fell off right now and I still would have tried to stand up and run. I needed to get out of there, away from all of that. Away from him. I couldn't let him see me cry...  
As I was running, I felt Gaara's chakra appear. It got stronger and stronger, until it felt like he was right beside me. I didn't stop, I just wanted to run.  
When I was done hobbling through the woods, dodging trees and low-branches like there was no tomorrow, I collapsed. I came out in some sort of clearing. I couldn't hear any water, so I knew I wasn't by the stream or the lake, but somehow this place felt familiar. Standing up I used a tree beside me for assistance, feeling something in it's trunk I paused. My finger caressed the marking in the tree, 'A star...'  
I knew where I was. I was home..  
Knowing exactly where to go my feet lead the way and the rest of my body followed. I don't remember how I ended up there, my mind was still in shock, trying to process what was happening in my life, but I soon found myself on the roof. Standing here with tears flowing down my face I stared blankly out over the roof, the events of a few minutes ago replaying through my mind like a terrible film you never wanted to watch again.  
Gaara's chakra appeared beside me, the stale smell of sand soon followed. He didn't say anything, he just stood beside me on the roof. I had a feeling he's been watching me since last night, and that he just witnessed my terrible break-up with Sasuke, and he had followed me into the woods. For what reason I wasn't entirely sure but, he was still here. He was someone to talk to.  
"I feel so pathetic." I said, turning towards him. Gaara said nothing, but I heard him begin to fidget with something and then I heard him set something big and heavy down on the roof beside him. I don't know why, but I had the erge to hug him. And I did. I took a few steps towards him, and when I was sure I was close enough I reached out with my arms and wrapped them around his back. He tensed up immensely when I embraced him, it was as if nobody has hugged him in years. It didn't matter to me if he hugged back or not, I just needed some sort of comfort right now.  
I nuzzled further into his chest and wrapped my arms righter around his body. He usually carried a gourd on his back but now, it wasn't there. Perhaps that was what he sent down, it was almost as if he sensed I was going to hug him. This was my first time being so close to Gaara. He smelled like vanilla, a strange scent for a man who wants to do nothing but kill everyone, and his body was so unbelievably warm it was almost relaxing. My tears flowed down my face as I cried silently, I wasn't a fan of obnoxious sobbing.  
At first, Gaara's hands hung limply at his side, as if he was unsure of what to do. It as hard to believe that he had never hugged anybody before..  
Eventaully I felt his arms move slowly, and soon his hands found a place on my back. He wasn't hugging me very tightly, but it was a start.  
It was still some sort of comfort..

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that for, but eventually my legs grew numb as did my arms and my face was stained with dried tears. I must have looked terrible..  
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry." I croaked after peeling myself away from Gaara. He didnt say anything, and he didn't take his arms off of me either. "I must look like quite the mess right now." I said, trying my hardest to laugh. Gaara still said nothing.  
"I can't believe after all these years I'm single." I said, looking down at well.. nothin. Probably Gaara's feet. "I guess it was expected. A ninja like him can't possibly hold a relationship with a broken civillian girl like me forever.. it was..it was bound to happen eventually.." I stopped myself, feeling more tears coming.  
Gaara still said nothing, his arms still not leaving my body.  
"You look fine. Uchiha is a fool." Gaara said suddenly, his voice was.. different, almost kinder than it usually is. Maybe he was warming up to me.  
I smiled, and leaned my head against Gaara's chest. He didn't seem to mind this time. His heartbeat was steady, it was a bit shocking at first. Not to be mean but most people expect him to be literally heartless.  
"Can you take me home? I need a nap..." I asked not bothering to hide the emotion in my voice. He didn't say anything, he just released me from his grip. I heard him begin to mess around with something, possibly his gourd, and he then lifted me up off of the ground. Gaara held me bridal style as he leapt off the roof, I wasn't even sure he touched the ground yet before I felt him take off through the trees at light-speed.  
Gaara was moving quite fast, I've only been held by a ninja running at full ninja-speed three times in my life and I loved every minute of it. However, right now I wasn't exactly in the mood to love it.  
When Gaara stopped moving, I could hear the familiar sound of my windchimes hanging above our heads. Gaara gently set me down, and I turned towards him.  
"Thanks.." I said, pulling him into one last hug. I couldn't give him one like I did last time, his gourd was in my way. I instead placed my hands on his chest and pulled myself closer to him. He did the same thing he did back on the roof, gave me one of his attempt of a hug, and then as soon as he let go he vanished in a puff of what was apparently sand. The stale smell filled my lungs and if I didn't have my eyes closed, it probably would have burned my eyes too. His chakra vanished altogether meaning he actually left me this time and didn't decide lurk about on the roof.  
I turned around, and opened my door leading into our apartment. As soon as I entered, I was met by Naruto.

"Mayu..." His worry-filled voice came. I said nothing. I was through with being strong, I couldn't do it anymore. Falling to my knees I burried my face in my hands and cried. I cried uncontrollably, I even made terrible crying noises too, but I honestly didn't care. My heart felt like it was tearing itself into pieces, and I had a feeling in my stomach like an army of butteflies were fighting to the death in there.  
Narito said nothing, he just kneeled beside me and rubbed my back. I must have cried non-stop for a solid hour, the thought of just losing me boyfriend of 8 years, the only person I've ever loved was enough to make me want to vomit. I cried and cried until I couldn't cry any longer, and once I was sure my body had no more tears left, Naruto pulled me onto his lap and held me on our kitchen floor. I just laid there with my eyes closed, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. He was my bestfriend, more like my brother. I really needed him right now..  
My face felt stiff, my eyes felt like they had just been stabbed by Kunai's, trust me I know how that feels. I was all out of tears, if that's even possible.  
"Naruto..." I asked, my voice barely a whisper.  
"What is it, Mayu?" He asked.  
"Am I weak?"  
"Of course not. You're one of the strongest females in Konoha. Who else could live life blind with a game leg and manage to smile everyday?"  
I let out a very tiny laugh.  
"Nobody but me."  
Naruto and I stayed like that on our kitchen floor until I began to feel sleepy. I could feel him lift me up off the floor and carry me to my room. He laid me on the bed, removed my shoes and even covered me with my blanket. Before he left he gently tied my hair up in a bun as best as he could because he knew I hated sleeping with my hair down. I managed to put a small smile on my face. "Thank you" I whispered.  
As soon as I heard the door shut, sleep began to take over my body. I had ran so much and cried so hard that my body was completely worn out..  
My life was changing and I wasn't sure if I was ready for it or not...

*I realized these last two chapters have sucked and I apologize for that, I just wanted to move on from the whole "Sasuke left me Gaara is my only friend" thing..


	14. Chapter 14: Awesome Day

Today was a new day in my life, a new chapter, a brand new beginning.  
And I was determined to be awesome for the rest of my life.

When I woke up, my face was uncomfortably stuck to my pillow. Once I finally managed to peel my face off of it, I began to feel my face and hair.  
"Oh gods... I must look a fright!" I said when I noticed my hair felt exactly like the bush outside our apartment Naruto always complains about. My face felt like it had turned into cement overnight.  
"Time for a bath.." I said to myself climbing out of bed.  
I took a slow and painful walk to the bathroom, I felt terrible. 'This must be what hangovers feel like...' I thought to myself, rubbing the sleep and other miscellaneous gross things from my eyes that accumulated overnight. When I got to the bathroom, I paused.  
"Maybe It's... time for a change." I said with a smile. I walked over to the bathtub as I usually do, I turned the tap on and waited for the water to turn the right temperature, then I pulled the little knob that made the water come out of the nozzle overhead rather then the taps.  
"My very first shower in.. I don't remember how long it's been!" I said laughing to myself as I slipped out of my tear-stained and dirt-covered clothes from lastnight and into the hot steamy shower.

"This is awesome. Why didn't I start doing this sooner?" I said with a laugh as I turned my face up towards the gushing water to clean my face. It was really a retorical question, I knew why. I was scared my leg would act up in the shower and I didn't want Naruto having to rescue me while I'm laying on our bathroom floor naked.. That was a nightmare if I ever had to experience one.  
I took a longer shower than I probably needed to, partially because I was enjoying showering, partially because I felt like I had to wash myself four different times just to make sure I was clean. The real reason though was because I kept thinking about things, my mind kept wandering. It was a bad habit of mine, to space out and begiin to think about.. anything and everything.  
Once I felt myself prune up, I turned the water off, almost forgetting to put the little knob back down, and stepped out of my shower and into the cold air of my bathroom.  
I pretty much ran into my bedroom in order to get changed, Naruto wasn't here, he was off training with some "Pervy Sage" guy as he called him, so I probably won't see him until the Chunin exams start. Sakura was moping around with Ino and the rest of the Genin were either training or sulking about their defeat. So I guess I was on my own today, unless I bumped into Gaara.  
You know, for a girl who just got dumped by her boyfriend of 8 years I seem a little too 'okay' with it. I mean sure I was a royal reck lastnight but today I feel.. fine. Maybe it's because I finally realized he's a jerk, or maybe it's because I've been thinking about Gaara non-stop since lastnight.  
I don't know what it is about him that makes me think about him all the time. I mean, he's quiet, anti-social, he would probably kill me in two-seconds flat if he was bored enough, everybody hates him, they're scared of him, and he doesn't seem like the friendly type. So why do I feel like this?

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I finished getting dressed. I was wearing a pair of jean short-shorts, and a long shirt that almost completely covered my shorts, with a very low-cut v neck, sleeves that went just above my elbow, and I made sure to put on a lacey shirt underneath of it so I didn't look like a skank. As usual I had no idea what colour my clothes were, I just hoped that I matched. It would be embarassing if I was wearing hot pink and lime green right now..  
After a quick breakfast of ramen and a cup of tea I decided to head outside for my new day of awesome. That's my new thing, 'being awesome.' I wasn't going to let the great Sasuke Uchiha ruin my life. He was gonna see me happy without him and he was going to be miserable.  
That's my plan anyways.  
I left my house not really knowing where I was going to go, I just know I wanted to get out. My plan was to wander around until I found somebody to hang out with, but the moment I stepped foot outside my doors I sensed the familiar chakra of who I wanted to hang out with and I was going to sneak off and go hang out with him. However... his siblings and sensei were with him too, and I have a feeling they don't like me very much.  
Realizing I would be alone today I sighed angrily to myself and wandered off in a random direction. I figured the lake wouldn't be a bad place to go, I was just hoping I was wandering in the right direction.  
Even though I'm blind I still had a pretty good sense of direction. Usually I can figure out where to go by myself without much trouble, but there is the odd time I miscalculate and end up somewheres I didn't want to be. This time though, I was pretty sure I was going in the right direction.

While feeling my way through the woods, enjoying the breaking branches beneath my feet and the sound of two squirrels chasing each other in the treetops above me was relaxing. I decided I wanted to sing.  
_ "Ding dong ding dong kane no ne, kurosu shite yure tara."  
_I could sense somebody's chakra growing closer to mine, and I smiled.  
_"Tick tock tick tock ugoki dasu, koware ta tokei.  
Kokadourru dou tsugeteiru, yoga aketeku yoto.  
Kaeri taku nai itsuki ga, niga warai shita."  
_I felt myself step out into the clearing where the lake was. His chakra was getting closer, but still keeping it's distance. Smiling I continued on my way.  
_"Watashi ga anata wo yusaburi okoshitara, dakitsuite itene ochinai you ni.  
Saa don de yuko u, don de yuko u. Oui kaze ga fuku ite kita you. Nagare ni nore, nagare ni nore, flow.  
Don na yami mo, don na yami mo. Hikari ga atte shiru ru mono sa. Umaku, ikuyo, kitto." _[Eiko Shimamiya - FLOW]  
I sat down at my usual spot, taking my shoes off first I let my feet dangle in the water.  
I felt his chakra stop, I knew where he was. He was at the edge of the forest watching me, for a ninja he really wasn't as stealthy as you would think he'd be.  
"You're not a very sneaky ninja you know that?" I said with a laugh loud enough for him to hear me.  
I heard some twigs snap behind me, and then silence.  
"Three..." I began counting down.  
"Two..." Almost here...  
"One." And on cue, Gaara popped up beside me. "Hello." I said.  
"Hi." He said. I gasped, Gaara of the Desert just said hi to me. I smiled and lifted my arms into the air. Letting out a big stretch I let myself fall back onto the grass behind me. Gaara's eyes were on me, he was probably trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Folding my arms over my stomach I turned my hear towards Gaara.  
"Relax." I told him. "Take that stupid gourd-thing off your back and lay down with me." I said patting the grass beside me. I didn't think he would actually do it, I mean he seems like he'd be way too evil to lay on some grass. Maybe his inner raccoon would tempt him to lay back with me, raccoons like grass don't they?  
I heard rustling beside me, and then felt the impact of Gaara laying down beside me.  
Neither one of us said anything, we just laid there side by side. I was enjoying the heat on my face, I wasn't sure what he was enjoying, probably nothing. He most likely just laid down because I told him to and he didn't feel like arguing.

"How.. are you?" I heard Gaara ask after a few minutes of silence. He seemed uneasy about the question.  
"I'm fine. How are you?" I asked with a smirk on my face.  
"I meant with Uchiha." He said slightly annoyed.  
I laughed and rolled over on my side so I was facing him, my chin propped up in my hand. "I'm fine, really. I'm not gonna let it bother me." I said.  
"He hurt you though. Don't you want revenge?" Gaara asked. I shook my head. "I don't want revenge on anyone. Revenge is a terrible thing, it's a waist of time." I told Gaara, playing with a flower, or a dandelion, whichever it was. Gaara made some sort of "Hmm" sound and then said nothing else.  
"The final stage will begin soon." I began, trying to make conversation. "Are you excited?" I asked Gaara, hoping he wasn't gonna to go all demonic like he did lastime we talked about this.  
"I am. The chance to fight Uchiha.. he's a strong ninja, I look forward to it." I sighed in relief. Gaara wanted to fight Sasuke only because he was a strong ninja, not because he wanted to tear him part limb-by-limb and eat him for lunch. That's what I told myself anyways, it was a much more pleasant thought.  
"I'm gonna be there." I told him excitedly. I heard him move around, then felt his eyes on me. "I'm going to spectate. I wanna see the fight between you and Sasuke. Well, I can't exactly see it.. But I wanna hear it, Sakura is gonna narrate important parts for me so I know what's going on." I told him, I was hoping he's be atleast a little happy that I was gonna be there.  
"You...are going to be there?" He asked me, he sounded extremely shocked, the opposite reaction that I wanted. I nodded. "Are you sure? I might hurt Uchiha and, it might be dangerous." He said.  
I raised an eyebrow. 'Something tells me he doesn't want me there..'  
"Gaara.. is this because you plan on killing Sasuke?" I asked in a serious tone. "I know you won't kill him. I'll be fine."  
He didn't say anything after that and neither did I, I figured it would be awesome to avoid talking about this for the time being.  
Him and I just laid there together in the silence for a long time, all that was heard was the sound of the wind on the lake and on the grass. 'I wonder what he's thinking..' I thought to myself. 'A guy like that, laying here like this, with a girl like me. What's on his mind?'  
I opened my mouth to ask him, but I suddenly sensed a chakra source in the forest.  
It was running at great speeds,  
directly towards us.

"Gaara!" I yelled, sitting up. He must have sensed it too because he was already up with his gourd on his back.  
"Mayu get behind me." He said in a rough voice. I nodded, and approached the sound of his voice. I found his arm in a few seconds and grabbed onto it for dear life.  
"Well well well.. what have we here." An unfamiliar voice said. I was worried, I've never sensed this guy's chakra before until now. Was he here for the Chunin exams? Or was he here for something else...  
"Gaara you've gone soft." The guy said. I flinched, 'He knows Gaara..?' The guy laughed a very creepy laugh. "Baki sent reports back to Sunagakure, reports that the Kazekage wasn't too pleased to recieve. He claims you've gotten extremely close to one of the girls here, and that he worries you've growing too attached to her.. so attached that you might not have it in you to carry out your misson successfully. The Kazekage sent me here to get rid of this girl and to remind you of your mission. Now Gaara, kindly step aside while I eliminate the distraction." He said, I felt his eyes on me the entire time he said that. I tightened my grip on Gaara's arm, I was really scared now.  
'Kazekage? Mission? Distraction? What is going on!' I yelled in my head. I would have liked to yell it out loud but I didn't really want to put more attention on me.  
"Tell the Kazekage." Gaara began. "That he can not tell me what to do. I haven't forgotten my mission, but I cannot allow you to hurt her."  
The guy laughed even harder. "What's this? Gaara of the Desert is protecting someone? Hell, just a few months ago you were killing people for fun and now you're trying to protect them? Gaara I'm sorry but you have grown soft, way too soft. This mission is in jeopardy because of you.. Looks like I'll have to deal with you, and then once your out of the way I'll be coming back for little miss here."  
I felt Gaara's hand on mine. "Mayu, step back." He said sternly. I nodded, "Be careful.." I whispered to him, even though I knew he would win no problem.  
"Aw ain't this cute." I heard the guy sneer. "Don't go too far little miss, I'll be dealing with you sooner than you'd like."  
I stepped back far enough so that Gaara had room to fight this guy, grabbing my shoes and putting them back on. If I needed to make a spontaneous get-away, I needed proper footwear. I was wearing flats, not the best choice for fleeing but still better than bare feet.  
For the first little while, all I could hear was the clinking of metal, the shifting of sand and the disgruntled noises of the guy Gaara was fighting. I grew more worried with each passing second. This guy was obviously strong, or else Gaara would have had him beat by now. I just hoped he wasn't too strong, I didn't feel like dying today.  
"Gaara I'll admit you're a toughie alright, but not tough enough I'm afraid!" I heard more clanging, and more sand. I was scared, I couldn't see what was happening, I had no idea if Gaara was okay or not. 'What I wouldn't give to see right now...' I sadly thought to myself, clutching my hands together.  
The battle lasted a long time. Both Gaara and the guy who wanted to kill me were low on chakra, they were both tired and out of breath.  
"I'm surprised you've lasted this long." Gaara said with amusement in his tone. The guy just laughed, "The Kazekage had me trained especially for the purpose of fighting you." He boasted.  
Gaara must have been a threat in Sunagakure if the Kazekage had to train men just for the purpose of fighting him. I was still questioning what this 'mission' was that Gaara apparently had to carry out. I would get answers out of him one way or another.  
"This is getting boring." The guy said. "I think I'll end it now." I heard him take out a Kunai or a Shuriken, I wasn't sure which one, and then run full speed towards Gaara. I was hoping, praying that Gaara would get him before he got Gaara.  
I heard the movement of sand, and then what sounded like a poof.  
Gaara gasped. "Substitution Jutsu?!" He yelled in disbelief. 'Substitution jutsu...'  
My eyes widened, and the rest happened in seemingly slow motion.

The guy suddenly appeared behind me.  
His breath on my neck. He was laughing triumphantly.  
"See you little miss.."  
I tried to run but he had me in a choke hold.  
I felt his arm raise, weapon clutched tightly in his hand.  
The sound of metal piercing skin was heard,  
and the smell of blood filled the air.  
But it wasn't my blood..

I fell to my knees, and hurriedly crawled away. His body fell to the ground with a thump.  
"Wh-wh-wh-what happened?" I stammered, still getting over my shock. Gaara appeared beside me.  
"He was distracted. I hit him with my shuriken." He stated out of breath. I let out a sigh of relief, that was too close. I shakily stood up, using Gaara's arm as a support.  
Realization hit me and I turned towards Gaara. "What mission?" I asked sternly. I felt Gaara tense up, as if he didn't expect the question.  
Silence was his reply.  
"Gaara... what mission was he talking about?" I demanded. Gaara let out a growl and then began to talk away.  
"Gaara!" I yelled after him. Things were going so well between us, and then this guy appeared out of nowheres with the talk of some Baki guy, the Kazekage, missions and killing me. Now everything was tense and awkward, everything was a little less awesome..  
"It's none of your business." He said coldly, his chakra suddenly vanishing all at once, the smell of stale sand filled the air behind him.  
And so here I was standing by myself in the middle of a blood-scented possibly blood-stained field, with a dead guy behind me, wondering what mission Gaara was hiding from me.  
"What ever it is." I said to myself, starting my journey back home. "I will find out." I promised myself.  
And I meant it, I'm a woman after all. When men hide things from us, we will find out.  
Always.


	15. Chapter 15: Gaara's Warning

The next two weeks flew by faster than I had hoped.  
Today was the day where the remaining ninja's face off against one another to decide who becomes Chunin.  
I was excited.

Sasuke was still off training with Kakashi-sensei, not that I cared..  
Naruto returned yesterday from his training. He talked my ear off all day and all night about this "Pervy sage" guy and all the "super-awesome-hardcore-ninja training they went through. It was quite the headache.  
Gaara's been avoiding me since the day the ninja attacked me. I heard rumours around Konoha that he killed a few random people passing by the village, which wouldn't surprise me to be honest, but I hoped it wasn't true. I had also heard Sasuke came back and slaughtered him with his barehands, which was highly unlikely seeing as Gaara's sand would probably eat Sasuke alive.  
I really wish Gaara would talk to me, and I have yet to figure out what this 'mission was' that he was talking about. Usually when one hears something like that they spazz and tell the person of highest power, being the Hokage, but I didn't want Gaara beheaded anytime soon so I kept my mouth shut. I would get it out of him eventually...

I had met up with Sakura and Ino two hours before the exams started so we could get there early and snag some pretty decent seats. We were all walking to the location together. me holding onto Sakura's arm and Ino walking beside me. I needed them to be my eyes today, they didn't seem to mind too much.  
"I hope Sasuke wins!" Ino cheered.. I tightened my grip on Sakura's arm, hoping she's get the hint. I wasn't in the mood to talk about Sasuke today.  
Ino must have got the hint, or Sakura gave her a silent warning because Ino let out a nervous laugh. "Oh right, sorry Mayu." She said trying to sound apologetic. She was terrible at faking emotions. She sounded like she wanted nothing more than to talk about Sasuke nonstop, especially now that he's finally single, but was extremely angry that she couldn't mention him in front of me. I didn't let it bother me though, if she went through what I went through she wouldn't wanna talk about her ex either..  
About halfway there, I felt water begin to creep up my leg.  
"Whatt the?" I said quietly so Sakura and Ino couldn't hear. They didn't hear me over their own mouths though, they were too busy arguing over who's hair is shinier.  
The more I walked the more the water irritated my leg, and that's when I realized it wasn't soft and wet, it was course and grainy. 'Sand...?' I thought to myself. That's when it hit me, Gaara was near! And I got the feeling he wanted to talk to me, which was a good thing because I really wanted to talk to him.  
"Guys..." I began, stopping in my tracks.. "I'll meet up with you later there's... something I have to do." I said, letting go of Sakura's arm and slipping away from them.  
I heard them call my name and then ask what was wrong simultaneously, followed by some screaming and then fighting over "who was prettier." Where that fight came from was beyond me..  
Gaara's chakra began to move as soon as I began to walk away, and that's when I knew the chase was on. I started to walk fast, towards Gaara, trying not to irritate my leg incase I needed to make a get-away later.

Gaaralead me a little was into the woods, to a little clearing with what sounded like a river nearby. I could hear what sounded like a waterfall as well, but I haven't heard too many waterfall's in my lifetime so I couldn't quite tell what it was.  
"What's going on?" I asked Gaara when I was sure he could hear me. As usual he didn't reply right away, he just walked towards me until we were eye to forehead. Gaara was a little taller than I was so his eye came to my forehead. It was very depressing yes but I was used to it, I've always been tiny.  
"Gaara..." I spoke, about to give him a huge lecture about how it's rude to keep secrets from somebody and then vanish into thin air whenever they discover said secrets, but I was cut off.  
Not by words.  
But by lips.  
Gaara's lips...  
My eyes must have been the size of coconuts. 'Is he kissing me?' I mentally screamed at myself. My face was as hot as a thousand suns, and even though I just broke up with Sasuke a few weeks ago and shouldn't be moving on so soon, I didn't really mind it.  
Gaara's lips lingered on mine for a few seconds before slowly pulling away.  
"Stay away from the exams." Gaara said suddenly. I blinked, tearing myself away from la-la land and into reality.  
"E-e-excuse me?" I stammered, trying to sound normal.  
"Stay away from the exams.." Gaara repeated. "My mission was..." He paused, and I heard him take in a deep breath. "My siblings and I, our mission was to aid those from the Sound village in the destruction of Konoha."

My eyes grew so wide I felt like my sockets were going to explode.  
'Did he.. did he just.. did he just say.. destroy Konoha?' My mind was rapidly trying to process what he just said to me, I felt the blood drop to my feet and my heart began to do flips.  
"Gaara I don't... I don't understand." I told him, anger, fear, sadness and pain all fighting to take control of my body.  
"Mayu.. The invasion will start during mine and Sasuke's fight. Please don't be there I don't want you to get hurt." Gaara said in his usual emotionless tone, which defeated the purpose of how caring he was trying to sound. I felt his hands on my shoulders. "I want you to stay away and hide somewheres. I will find you after... I want you to be safe." He said. "I've never cared about another human life before, I can't hurt you I won't do it.  
I shook my head, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Pushing his hands off my shoulders I started to back away.  
"No.. No! I won't hide, I won't!" I shouted. "How could you... I can't believe what I'm hearing from you right now Gaara. And after all that we.." I stopped myself. I heard  
"If you're going to destroy Konoha.." Tears were threatening to fall. "Then you have to destroy me too." I told Gaara as confidentl as I could. Maybe I could convince him to change his mind.  
And I meant it. I wasn't going to be the only one surviving. I'm not a ninja, I can't do much but there's one thing I can do and that's go down with my village.  
Gaara began walking towards me, but I kept backing away, preparing to make a run for it even though the chances of a blind cripple outrunning a ninja were zero. I was willing to try..  
My leg wasn't going to let me get away from Gaara anytime soon however, for it twisted when I went to back up and I began to fall backwards with a startled cry.  
I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the impact of Earth on my back. But it never came, Gaara had caught me before I hit the ground!  
So here I lay, in the arms of the man who I'm growing quite fond of who is also the man trying to destroy my village and the people in it.  
"Mayu..." He said, his face just inches from mine. He sounded quite sad. "I'm sorry but I can not hurt you. Forgive me.."  
I blinked in confusion, struggling to free myself from his grip. "What do you-" I didn't get to finish my sentence.  
I felt what I thought was dust falling over my face, and as I breathed it in I grew quite sleepy. A strange smell filled my nose and lungs and left a tingling sensation, and with each breath I took the heavier my eyes felt.  
"What's go..." I tried to spit out, but couldn't. Did Gaara just...drug me?  
The last words I heard before I blacked out were. "I'm sorry."

*This chapter was short I apologize. Love you all!


	16. Chapter 16: I Am Not Weak!

_"Sasuke wait!" I yelled, chasing after Sasuke Uchiha.  
"Please don't leave me behind!" I kept pleading with him to slow down to me to catch up to him. My leg was hurting really bad, and he just kept running and running and he wouldn't slow down for me at all.  
"Come on Mayu!" He yelled, not bothering to turn his head. "Hurry up!"  
All I could see was the back of his head. His hair was a dark shade of blue, almost black, and he wore it spiked up. His shirt was a lighter shade of blue than his hair and had a very wide collar to it. He wore white shorts, white arm and leg guards and signature ninja sandles. The Uchiha crest was proudly presented on the back of his shirt.  
"Sasuke wait for me please!" I tried pleading again, reaching out to grab onto him.  
I wasn't sure why we were running, I had forgotten the reason. We were running through some sort of village, there were no people here. It seemed like we were the only ones, was there something going on?  
"Sasuke!" I yelled, trying one more time. "Please don't leave me behind!"  
I stretched my arm farther, this time I missed his arm but somehow managed to push myself farther by just a little and grab onto his shoulder. As soon as my arm made contact with his shoulder, everything grew dark.  
My eyes widened, as the buildings around us suddenly burst into flames. I stumbled on something while I was running, distracted by the fire. I looked down expecting to see a rock or a branch but what I saw made me feel sick to my stomach. The streets were littered with bodies! Men, women, children, ninja's, all lay dead on the streets.  
Looking up the last thing I saw was Sasuke's figure running into the distance, slowly vanishing from sight. He wore what looked like a white robe with a strange purple sash tied around his waist, tied in the shape of an upside down bow.  
"You were always weak Mayu." Sasuke's voice echoed in my head. "I'm sorry I have to go."_

My eyes shot open.  
"Where am I?" I groaned, clutching my aching head. "Was that all just a... dream?" I went to stand up but when I put my hand down on the floor to push myself up, my hand found nothing but air. My arm fell through the air, pulling my body along with it with a shrill scream.  
When my body hit the ground, it knocked the wind out of me and a sharp pain shot through my back. I couldn't see obviously, everything was black in my eyes, but for some reason little tiny stars danced around in the darkness. Then, I felt nothing. No pain, no sickness, nothing.  
'What is... going on?' I managed to think to myself. Then, my memories suddenly flooded back to me.

_I felt what I thought was dust falling over my face, and as I breathed it in I grew quite sleepy. A strange smell filled my nose and lungs and left a tingling sensation, and with each breath I took the heavier my eyes felt._  
_"What's go..." I tried to spit out, but couldn't. Did Gaara just...drug me?_  
_The last words I heard before I blacked out were. "I'm sorry."_

"Gaara.. I am going to kill.." I began struggling for breath, and after a few more tries I managed to force a little bit of air into my lungs. With each breath I took, pain slowly seeped into my body.  
My body felt like it had been broken into a million different pieces, and while every inch of it was in immense pain, my leg hurt more than anything.  
I slowly managed to sit up from my position sprawled out on the ground, I wasn't sure where I was or what was going on, and I was scared.  
"Gaara..?" I weakly yelled out into the air, hoping for a responce. A sharp pain shot through my leg with full force when I sat up, causing me to scream out loud in pain.  
Clutching my knee tightly I began to cry, It hurt more than anything I've ever felt., a lot more than when I first broke it.  
"Where am I?" I managed to cry out to absolutely nobody. I was scared, so scared.  
First, Gaara did something to me, I was pretty sure by now that he had drugged me. Then, I wake up and fall off of... something, possibly a tree and now I'm laying on the ground somewheres with a severely injured leg and absolutely no self-defense skills what-so-ever. On top of all this, I'm blind and can't see anything!  
All I could really feel was the pain in my leg and the ache of my body.  
I seriously wanted to die right now.  
Laying back down on the ground I closed my eyes, and decided to just wait. Wait for someone, wait for something, wait for anything. I could sense somebody's chakra in the distance, but I couldn't recognize who it belonged to, my sensed were all messed up.  
'There's no way I can walk with such a bad leg..' I thought to myself as more tears threatened to fall from my eyes. 'I'm so broken... somebody will find me.. eventually.'  
_"You were always weak Mayu."  
_Sasuke's voice from my dream echoed in my head, and my body tensed up. I literally froze.  
_"You were always weak Mayu."  
_It kept repeating over and over like a broken record, and each time I heard it my anger grew and more tears threatened to fall.  
'Sasuke was completely right. When he told me that I was weak, he was spot on. I've always been weak.. I can't stand up for myself, I can't protect anybody, I can't even protect myself. I'm pathetic.' I thought to myself, the barrier holding back my tears finally broke.

_"Itachi once told me that you were weak, he said you would only slow me down, and that you were just one big accident just waiting to happen. It turns out he was right. You are weak, and that's why I'm weak. I'm weak because I'm tied down to you, because I'm always chasing after you, pretending like I care. Well no more pretending."_

The last words Sasuke spoke to me, the words that ended out long-term relationship replayed in my head, causing my heart to hurt once again.  
Wiping the tears from my eyes with one hand, I pulled myself back up into a sitting position. "I am not weak.." I told myself.

_"You'll never be a great ninja, little brother. Especially if you're tied down to a blind girl who can't even walk properly. She's obviously very unfortunate and will never be able to hold her own weight. As long as you're with her, you'll always be weak. You'll never succeed and you'll never be a great ninja."_

Itachi's words from ten years ago played through my mind, and I felt a new fire ignited inside of me. "I am not weak.." I repeated.  
'I wasn't strong enough to save my family. I wasn't strong enough to save my eyesight, and I wasn't strong enough to withstand a fall from a roof. But...'  
I raised my eyes to the sky, and even though I couldn't see, I knew the sun was shining brightly on my broken body.  
'I am not weak. I will no longer be weak! I'll show you...'  
_"You were always weak Mayu."  
_"I'll show you all that I'm not weak!" I screamed, planting my hands firmly on the ground on either side of me and pushing myself up off of the ground with all the energy I had left in my body.  
The pain that shot through my leg was intense, and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from screaming out but I had to do it. I had to push myself, I was no longer going to be weak.  
Tears began to fall against my will but I didn't let them stop me, I had to keep going.  
"I'll show everybody.." I spoke through clenched teeth. "I'll show you all that I can be strong too."  
As soon as I was on both of my feet I started to walk. Each step I took caused me so much pain it was almost unbearable, it was as if my entire leg was trying to detach itself from the rest of me with every step I took.  
I couldn't let it stop me, I couldn't be weak anymore.  
All my life, I've been sitting on the sidelines. I've been waiting on benches for my friends to return from missons, sitting by myself wherever I could find a seat just waiting for somebody to come find me and help me get home. I've been suffocated my whole life, nobody ever let me explore, they always protected me and looked out for me while I stood blindly beside them unaware of what was going on, completely oblivious to the dangers they were truly facing.  
Everyday my friends risked their lives, while I sat by a lake picking flowers.  
"I'll show you Sasuke Uchiha just how strong I really am."  
I could sense the familiar chakra from before, and after I realized who it belonged to I grew furious.

I broke out into a run. Each stride I took hurt more than anything, and I just wanted to buckle and give up. But I couldn't stop myself, I wasn't going to let myself get beat down by some jerk like Sasuke. The tears were still rolling down my cheeks as I ran.  
At first running was difficult and I wasn't making much progress. I ran with an extremely noticable limp, that would resemble that of a deer with only two legs to run on.  
But after a while it became more easy, the pain began to subside and I could run with a smaller limp.  
I never thought in a million years that I would be running, actually running, blindly through a forest of some sort with absolutely no idea where I was!  
Even though I was scared, I was also excited. I had a new ambition, a new dream.  
I sensed the chakra from before growing closer and closer with each stride I took.  
'There you are...' I thought, narrowing my eyes as I finally grew close enough to strike..  
Summoning all the energy I had left, with one strong leap I flew from the forest and collided head on with the person I was seeking, knocking them to the ground with a startled yell.

"Gaara I am going to kill you!" I screamed in his face, pinning his wrists on either side of his head,  
"Mayu! I was just going to get you." He said, his voice full of pure shock.  
"Why did you do that? What did you do to Sasuke? How could you do this to me? What happened to Konoha, to Naruto!" I demanded.  
"They're all fine." Gaara said calmly, gently lifting me off of him with his sand. "Uzumaki beat me to a pulp before I could carry out the plans. I guess you could say.. he knocked some sense into me."  
"I can't believe you did that to me." I said angrily, clenching my fists. It was true, I couldn't believe he drugged me and took off to kill everyone.  
"Mayu your leg..." He said, noticing my injury. "I shouldn't have put you in that tree I'm so sorry."  
"Wait... you put me in a tree?!" I screamed in disbelief. "Why would you put a blind girl in a tree?!"  
"I assumed I would be back in time to get you before you woke up. I was wrong." He said bluntly, walking closer to me. "I"m so sorry. Don't be angry with me. I didn't destory Konoha don't worry all the buildings, mostly all of them, are still in one piece. Nobody's hurt, well except for Naruto and some of the genin and maybe a few villagers but... I didn't do it."  
"Gaara you..." I let out a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You scared me half to death. But I guess in a way.. I should thank you."  
"Thank.. me?" Gaara asked stopping in his tracks. He seemed very confused, I couldn't help but laugh. Walking closer to Gaara I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled as close as I could to his body, enjoying the warm feeling I was getting from it.  
Gaara seemed tense at my touch, his chakra was low and his body smelled strongly of blood and dirt. He was breathing heavily, and his heart was racing at a great speed which meant the battle ended not long ago.  
"Thank you. Thank you for not destroying my village, or killing my friends. And I thank you for.. much much more." I said, closing my eyes. He wasn't aware of all that he did for me.  
Gaara rested his chin on my head, and wrapped one arm around my waist letting the other dangle at his side.  
"No, I thank you." He said.

Even though I should be mad at Gaara, I couldn't help but be a bit thankful towards him. I mean, sure he drugged me, put me in a tree and left me there and then tried to destroy my village and my friends. But he did end up teaching me a lesson, even if he didn't know it. I learned that I can't be weak anymore, I can't always expect my friends to protect me. I have to try to be strong, for everyone. Sometimes I just have to try and save myself, even when I'm injured and everything seems hopeless.  
I also have to thank him for helping me move on from Sasuke. The more I'm with Gaara, the less I care about Sasuke. It's always been that way, even before we broke up, I just never had the heart to admit it.  
Thanks to Gaara I have a new dream, one that I'm determined to make come true. One that I will make true.  
I want to become a ninja.


	17. Chapter 17: The Promise

_***I'd just like to give a shout out to Ninja-Bunny-Master, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, imadevil247, and everyone else who's been reading my story. Thank you so much for your kind words! :D**_

The extensive running from lastnightreally did some damage to my leg.  
I could hardly walk home lastnight after my encounter with Gaara, he had to carry me home. On top of that, I'm bedridden today, and quite possible for the rest of the week.  
Naruto stopped by to visit me, he brought me some sushi from the nearby sushi-bar and Sakura came by as well and made me some tea. Kakashi-sensei stopped by as well, which surprised me, and he decided to read me a story. The story was his creepy perfect-book so about half-way through it I had to get him to stop before I ended up with a nose bleed.  
Today was the day that the foreign ninja's left for their hometowns, which meant that Gaara would be leaving today as well.  
He was lurking about on the roof of our apartment as usual, and as soon as Kakashi-sensei left, he popped in through my window to visit.

"Hey..." I said, trying to sound cheerful. I really couldn't, it was difficult. I had grown close to Gaara, and I really didnt want him to leave.  
Gaara didn't say anything, he just sat down on the edge of my bed.  
"Your leg is hurt." He said softly. I nodded, reaching down to feel my sore knee. It was significantly larger due to swelling, and it hurt so much I couldn't put any weight on it.  
"I'll be fine." I told Gaara with a smile. I didn't want him to worry about me, if he even had the ability to worry about anyone other than himself.  
Gaara made some sort of "Hmm" noise but said nothing. He was right beside me on the edge of my bed, and judging by how close we were I could tell he wasn't wearing his gourd because if he was I would be rubbing up against it by now.  
"Hey Gaara?" I asked, turning my head in his direction.  
"Yeah?"  
"Can we go outside?"  
"You can not walk.."  
"Can you carry me?" I asked him, feeling my face heat up. Gaara didn't say anything, but I felt his weight shift as he stood up. I moved the blankets off of my legs, careful not to get them caught in my sore leg, and tried to move closer to the edge as best as I could without hurting my leg even more than I already did.  
I didn't have to move very far because Gaara lifted me up with his sand, and used to bring me closer to him so he could hold me bridal style.  
My face felt like a thousand suns, as he began to walk through my house towards the door with me in his arms. He smelled like the outdoors, like pine and dirt, and I liked the scent. He was so warm, and I felt comfortable in his arms.  
'Why do I think like this?' I thought to myself. 'Sasuke just broke up with me...'

Gaara and I said nothing while he walked through town. I could feel curious and confused eyes on us as he carried me, but I didn't care. This was the last day I was going to see Gaara for a while, possibly forever.  
I didn't know where Gaara was taking me, but I decided to let him be the guide this time. I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes to enjoy the ride. His heartbeat was steady and relaxing, and his breathing was so silent that I had actually thought at one point that he didn't breath. I had to listen real close and once I heard the sound of him inhaling I sighed in relief. I'm not a fan of vampires.  
After a long time, Gaara stopped walking. I raised my head and listened for familiar sounds. Within seconds I knew where we were, no other place in Konoha hass the sound of wind hitting water like the lake. I smiled.  
Gaara walked over and gently set me down on the rock we've sat on together quite a few times, and then I heard him come over and take a seat beside me. I scooted back a bit, so our backs were pressed against one another and I gently leaned back on him. He didn't seem to mind, his back was strong and very toned, probably from carrying around that gourd so much. I lifted my head up towards the sky, feeling the wind on my face.  
"I'm gonna miss you when you're gone." I admitted, not expecting any sort of response from him. I couldn't help but wonder, would he miss me too?  
"Mayu..." Gaara began. "What must you think of me?"  
I turned my head. "What do you mean?"  
"When we met, I was cold. I didn't care about human life, or anybody else for that matter. But you didn't seem scared... What do you think of me now?" He asked. I could have swore I heard nervousness in his voice. I smiled.  
"What do I think of you..." I repeated. "I think that.. you're just a very misunderstood boy who's had a harsh life and who just needed a good punch in the face to knock some sense into him. I actually never doubted you from the start Gaara, I knew that you wouldn't hurt me, and that somehow you'd realize your way of thinking was flawed."  
"I see.." He trailed off, possibly deep in thought.  
I turned around to put my legs in the water, the cold feeling from the lake actually calmed the throbbing sensation in my knee. Gaara was still in the same position.  
"Gaara?"  
"Yes?"  
"Will you miss me?" I decided to ask the question. It was eating at me, I wanted to know.  
"Yes... I believe I will miss you." Was his reply. I smiled even wider.  
"Mayu..." Gaara shifted a little beside me. "Do you still love Uchiha?" My eyes widened at the sudden question and my stomach did a flip.  
"Well.." I wasn't sure how to answer this, but I decided I have to be honest. Something I'll never do is tell a lie. "I do still love him. He was my boyfriend ever since I was little, and It's hard to just forget about someone overnight. I'll get over him soon don't worry, It just takes time." I explained. Gaara seemed uneasy somehow, he seemed.. nervous. This was a new feeling from him.  
A gentle breeze blew and it caused my to shiver. I was wearing a simple skirt with a tanktop, my hair was tied back in a ponytail. I shifted a little so I was leaning more in Gaara's hoping to hide how cold I was. The natural heat from his body stopped the chills going up my spine.  
"I want to be something to you." I heard Gaara say, snapping me out of my thoughts. 'He.. what?' I thought to myself in disbelief.  
"Uzumaki taught me something. Strength doesn't come from killing, it come from protecting. Protecting someone precious to you..." He began. "You are my precious someone Mayu, the only person I've ever truly cared about. I want to be something to you someday. I want to be your boyfriend..."  
I was too stunned to say anything after this, I was in shock. Was this a dream or was he actually saying this?  
"I want to be a greater boyfriend to you than Uchiha was. Never before have I felt this way towards anyone, and even now I'm still not used to the way I fee It's new to me, and I still have much to learn but..." He stopped speaking.  
How do I reply to this? What do I say to him? I wasn't ready for another relationship.  
However.. what I do know is, I do care for Gaara. I've grown quite fond of him over the past few months I've been with him.  
But...I still love Sasuke.  
I don't feel strong enough to be Gaara's girlfriend, I'm too weak to keep up with him.

I turned myself around so my body was facing Gaara's. I placed my hands on his shoulders and rested my head on his back, in a sort of hug.  
"I've grown quite fond of you Gaara, I really have. But I still love Sasuke.. I'm not ready to rush into another relationship, It's too soon. I want to be stronger... I know that we will meet again someday Gaara, and when we do I will be a much stronger person. But I want you to promise me one thing..." I stopped waiting for Gaara to acknowledge my words.  
"What is it?" He asked anxiously.  
"Don't kill anymore. I don't want you to kill people for the thrill of it, or because you want to feel stronger. I want you to feel what it's like to be loved, and cherished, rather than feared and hated . When we see each other again Gaara, when I'm a stronger person, and when you're a better person, then you will be ready to be my boyfriend." I finished with a smile. I felt bad rejecting Gaara, but I wasn't ready to rush into another relationship, and neither one of us were ready to go out with each other. I knew that if we both strived to better ourselves, we'l have a better chance of working out in the future.  
I pressed myself further into Gaara's back, and slipped my hands off his shoulders wrapping them around his waist holding him closer to me.  
We stayed like this for a long time, I'm not even sure how much time passed, but it was a time I rather enjoyed.  
"I will become a better person. And we meet again I'll be ready to be your boyfriend ,Mayu. I promise."  
"And I promise I will become a stronger person, Gaara."

Two hours after our moment, Gaara and his team left for Sunagakure.  
Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and I stood by the gates to say goodbye as they left. We all grew rather attached to them, some more than others.  
"Bye everyone. Come back soon!" I said waving in their direction. I heard a chorus of "Goodbye"'s and "See ya"'s from Gaara's siblings, but nothing from Gaara.  
I heard a large number of footsteps which meant that they were leaving, and I felt my heart grow heavy. 'I'll miss you Gaara...' I thought sadly to myself, hoping I wouldn't start crying in front of everyone.  
I heard somebody stop walking in front of us and I raised my head curiously.  
"What's wrong Gaara?" I heard Temari ask.  
Footsteps were heard getting closer to me, and I felt Gaara's chakra. Why was he coming back did he forget something?  
His footsteps stopped right in front of me, I could sense that he was only centimeters away.  
"I will honour my promise." I heard Gaara say in his usual emotionless tone. I smiled and nodded.  
What happened next was the most shocking thing yet.

Two arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me forward.  
I felt a pair of lips pressing against mine, and a chorus of gasps, and "OH MY GOD"'s form both behind and in front of us.  
My eyes were the size of plates and my face grew hotter than it ever had before, I knew for a fact my face must have been as red as a tomato.  
Gaara was kissing me in front of everybody!  
The kiss ended way too soon in my opinion, and Gaara turned on his heel and began to walk back towards his stunned siblings without a single word, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary happened at all.  
I stood there stunned for a few moments, unable to speak or move. Once their chakra had vanished completely, I raised a hand up and gently touched my lips. Naruto and Sakura were freaking out behind me, but I couldn't hear their words. My mind had a million thoughts rushing through it, and I was too distracted to realize what was going on around me.  
This was the second time Gaara had kissed me, the first one happened right before I was put to sleep.  
This one, took my breath away.  
I smiled, happiness growing inside of me.  
I was going to like keeping this promise.


	18. Chapter 18: Six Months Later

***I'm sorry for the random time skip, I just don't feel like adding a bunch of filler and would like to spice-up my slightly boring OC. Also, I want to hurry to the parts with Gaara. Thank you so much for reading!**

**Six months have passed since then...**

"Water style! Water Cyclone Jutsu!" I yelled, performing my hand signs as fast as my body would let me.  
In an instance, the multiple chakra sources that were surrounding me began to vanish in a familiar "poof" sound.  
'Shadow clones eh...' I thought with a smirk. 'It's as expected.'  
I stood still, focusing everything I had on my only two reliable senses. Hearing, and chakra sense. And right now my senses were telling me that someone was behind me.  
"Water Style!" I yelled out loud, making false hand signs hoping to throw off my opponent. 'Earth style... Head Hunter Jutsu!' I thought to myself, laughing at my opponents stupidity.  
"Got you now!" My opponent yelled, plunging a kunai deep into my back. I smirked, when I heard the familiar "poof" of a vanishing clone, and the satisfying "huh?!" of my now confused and distracted opponent.  
My real body emerged from the Earth below him, grabbing him by the ankles and pulling him down with me until only his head was left protruding from the Earth. I then surfaced behind him the winner.  
"Haha! I win again Naruto!" I yelled in excitement.  
"No fair! Kakashi-sensei trained you, he's a Jonin that's totally not fair!" Naruto yelled, making disgruntled sounds as he tried to free his body from the Earthy prison I trapped him in.  
"Actually Naruto." Kakashi said, suddenly appearing beside both of us. "She beat you fair and square, I saw the whole thing. And, as a reminder you too were trained by me so..." His voice was dripping with sarcasm at this point. "Really, you should be just as good as she is if not better."  
I laughed, and extended out a hand to help my friend up, who gladly accepted. It took a few moments, but I finally managed to pry him from the ground.  
"Great job Mayu, you learn fast!" Naruto praised me, patting me on the back.  
I felt like I was floating.

A sudden itch formed under my bandages, which I gently attempted to scratch.  
"Hey! The doctor said no touching!" Naruto said smacking my hand away. I had already managed to scratch my itch so I wasn't too mad about it.  
"I know I know but... these bandages, they're so annoying." I said crinkling my nose at him.  
I had my reconstructive eye surgery almost a month ago. Doctor Miyamoto said I had to keep bandages over my eyes until the pain went away and my eyes felt as if nobody ever stuck a scalpel in them, she also said I had to wait atleast a month so even if my eyes were healed in two weeks time I still had to keep these darn things over my eyes. It was a small price to pay I guess.  
Doctor Miyamoto also looked at my leg while he was here, he wrapped it tightly in bandages and slapped some sort of annoying brace-thing on it to keep it in place, and he also worked some sort of medical jutsu on it. After he used the jutsu on me, I didn't feel any different. My bone was still all warped and I still limped when I walked or ran. Doctor Miyamoto told me that it's a permanent limp, so I'll have to learn to live with it. But because of the jutsu he used on me, my leg doesn't cause me anymore pain or discomfort so I can run and train all I want to!  
The limp is still annoying but, hey I've had it for ten years what's another life-time with it?  
However he did tell me that it's the most fragile and vulnerable part of my body so I could easily break it again if I were to get into another accident or a serious fight with somebody, but I told him not to worry and promised I would be extra careful. And I have been, even though Naruto keeps trying to get cheap shots in by tripping me.

I've been training hard with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto for the past 6 months.  
I'm actually surprised I've gotten this good, with me being as accident-prone as I am and all.  
It all happened six months ago, one week after Gaara left, the day after Sasuke left, and just after Lord Hokage died...

_"Mayu I have news for you." came the lazy voice of Kakashi-sensei. I jumped a bit at his sudden appearance, but once my heart stopped racing I turned towards him with a wide grin on my face, hoping he was bringing the news I was waiting for.  
"What is it?" I asked impatiently. I really wanted to know...  
"Yeah what is it Kakashi-sensei come on tell us!" Naruto popped up beside me.  
"Well... I have two things to tell you. First; Lord Hokage agreed to let you be my student. He said you will spend mornings with Iruka-sensei, and afternoons and possibly evenings with me. That way you will be able to tackle two things at once and be on your way to be assigned to a ninja squad that must faster."  
It felt like time stopped right there. I can't believe it, I finally get to become a ninja..  
But at the same time everything felt heavy. Lord Hokage is dead, which means he must have told Kakashi-sensei all of this before he passed on.  
"However there's more..." My heart stopped. "An.. anonymous donor who wishes not to be named has generously donated quite a large sum of money to Lord Hokage on your behalf."  
I blinked in confusion. "I don't get it..."  
"You didn't let me finish." He said, excitement growing in Kakashi-sensei's voice. I swallowed, he needed to tell me now before I exploded!  
"This, donor, said that the money is to only be used to hire a surgeon, more specifically Doctor Miyamoto from the Land of Waves, to perform reconstructive surgery on you to restore your eyesight and to test for any hope of fixing your game leg."  
Time really did stop for me right there.  
"He also said with what's left, we have to use it to repair the damage done to the buildings during the Chunin exams."  
Tears were flowing from my eyes uncontrollably by now.  
"Don't cry Mayu, you'll be able to see in no time. Lord Hokage wanted to tell you all of this himself but given the circumstances..." He trailed off. "I thought it was best that I tell you."  
I could not believe what I was hearing.  
Somebody sent money in to have my eyesight repaired.  
I'll finally be able to see again!  
Naruto was cheering loudly beside me but I couldn't hear a word he was saying._

My training started four days after Kakashi-sensei gave me the news. I was so nervous, so excited I wanted to vomit.

_"Alright Mayu." Kakashi-sensei began.  
My first lesson with Iruka-sensei had just ended and now it was time for the physical part. Sakura and Naruto, and of course Hinata and the other Genin were spectating from the sidelines. They all came to see just how well their beloved blind-cripple of Konoha could fair against Kakashi-sensei.  
"Now, I'm not gonna make you attack me or anything just yet. You're still too much of a, how should I say this... a noob, to do that. So for now, I want you to block my attacks. Don't worry they won't be fatal or anything, and I won't use kunai... yet. I'll just be throwing simple sticks and rocks at you, to see how well you do with reflecting attacks from enemies when you can't see.  
I nodded. I was dressed in black shorts, juts like Sakura's I do believe, with a thick-strapped tank top overtop. I had on Genin-sandals, and bandages were wrapped tightly around my leg to prevent me from twisting my knee and causing further injury. I also had an annoying knee brace which I would like nothing more than to burn right about now.  
So there I stood, with a dozen pairs of eyes on me watching my every move waiting for Kakashi-sensei to give me the signal to begin.  
And then, I heard it.  
A gently rustle from the trees followed by the sound of something sharp slicing through air.  
It was coming from my left.  
As fast as I could I swung the hand with my kunai in it towards the sound and heard the satisfying "clink" of metal on metal.  
"Good." I heard Kakashi-sensei say from.. somewheres, as his kunai hit the ground with a thud beside me.  
"Kakashi-sensei! You said you weren't going to use kunai on Mayu!" I heard Sakura yell from the sidelines.  
"I did didn't I. I guess I forgot... now then, let's begin shall we?"_

_ Kakashi-sensei trained me for 6 hours that night.  
He wouldn't let me stop until I could successfully stop 12 kunai coming at me form all different directions in just a few simple arm movements.  
He told me he was impressed, he said it took Naruto almost a month to learn how to stop even one kunai coming at him, let alone 12.  
I floated all day on a cloud of pure-awesome._

"We're leaving on a misson soon." Naruto spoke, tearing me from my thoughts.  
"Oh?" Was all I said, my mind was still elsewhere.  
"Yeah.. it's another Sasuke retrieval misson." He said.  
I frowned, and began fidgetting with the bandages covering my eyes.  
"When will they give up on that guy...?" I asked Naruto. He didn't say anything after that, I knew Sasuke was a touchy subject.  
Sasuke left a few days after Gaara departed, he came to me that night and gave me some sob story about how he still loves me and hated treating me the way he did but "He's an avenger so he must leave to seek power and destroy his brother." to which I replied. "Have a nice life."  
It was true. I got over Sasuke pretty fast after that night, and I don't miss him one bit.  
Maybe, I miss who he used to be, and I still love the old, kind and considerate Sasuke I used to know. But who he is now.. I'm much happier without him.  
Everybody else seems to be making a big deal about him leaving though. Sakura mostly..  
She's been super depressed ever since he left, begging everybody to bring him back.  
It's got so bad that several Genin were sent out on several missions to find and bring him back to Konoha. I gave up on him a long time ago, and I wish they'd all do the same.  
And I don't see why Sakura's getting all worked up, I was his girlfriend before he left, I should be the one missing him the most not her.  
But I guess she never truly got over him, I knew that, I always knew that, but I never said anything to her.  
Maybe she loved him more than I did, who knows.

What I do know is that I've been thinking about Gaara non-stop since the day he left.  
Since the kiss he gave me before he departed he's been on my mind 24\7, I guess you can say he's my motivation.  
The thought of possibly meeting him again and the constant reminder of the promise we made has been keeping me going ever since I started my training.  
There's been days when I just wanted to throw in the towel and say 'I give up' but whenever I thought about it his face appeared in the back of my head and a new fire began to burn inside of me.  
I just can't help wonder where he is and if he's feeling the same way I am..  
However I did recieve a letter from him three months ago. I was so happy when I recieved it I almost cried.  
I might have shed a few tears...  
Of course I couldn't see to read it, so I got Hinata to read it out-loud to me.  
She also had to write my reply for me because I couldn't see to write it out myself, nor was I very good at writing for that matter.  
I got the delivery ninja to re-read it for me right before I sent it to make sure she didn't try to pull a fast one and make me sound like an idiot, but it's Hinata she'd never ever do that.

Gaara's letter read:

_**Mayu,**_

_** It's been three months since the Chunin exams, I wanted to see how you were doing.  
I heard Uchiha left... I expected it, how are you doing?  
Have you began your training yet? I want to know how you're doing..  
I'm deeply sorry for the passing of your Hokage, I honestly had no part in his death.  
Everyday I think about you, and it helps me to be a better person.  
At school we had to tutour Genin, only one picked me though everybody else ran away in fear.  
Her name is Matsuri, she is very shy, and timid, and is scared of almost everything.  
Especially weapons. It seems her parents were killed by weapons...**_

_** She's the second woman I've ever come into contact with.  
But she doesn't make me feel the way you do, which in a way makes me kind of relieved.  
I'm not sure what I'm feeling but I like it.  
I miss you, tell me how you are doing.  
I won't be able to write to you much...**_

_** -Gaara**_

I couldn't help but smile when Hinata read me the letter from Gaara. But when he mentioned this, Matsuri girl, I couldn't help but feel jealous.  
'She's the second woman I've ever come into contact with.'  
That part scared me the most. But what he wrote after that, made my heart jump for joy and my face light up like a Christmas tree.  
My reply sucked, in my opinion, but atleast I tried.

_**Gaara,**_

_** Hey how are you doing? I'm so happy you wrote to me, I was starting to miss you a lot.  
Yeah he left, but I'm doing alright. Actually, I think I'm the least upset about it than everybody else here. They're making a big deal about him leaving, sending Genin out to try to find him and get him to come back, I think it's a waist of time. I don't miss him at all, honest.  
I have began training! Kakashi-sensei is personally training me himself, with the occassional help from Naruto and Sakura of course. I'm not as good as you are though, I still have a very long ways to go before I get there.  
I think about you everyday too, Gaara. I was actually just wondering if you thought about me too.. It makes me happy to know you haven't forgotten about me.  
I'm glad that atleast one person is giving you a chance, even though it is another woman.  
I miss you too Gaara, always! And don't worry, I know it's not your fault that Lord Hokage died.  
I also heard that Orochimaru killed your father, the Kazekage, I'm so sorry your father's dead, even though you told me you didn't like him very much, he was still your father.  
Oh that reminds me! I'm gonna be able to see soon. Somebody donated money to me, in order to hire a surgeon to perform reconstructive eye surgery on me. Hopefully it'll be a success, and nextime we meet I'll be able to see you...  
Anyways, write back whenever you can!**_

_**-Love Mayu**_

This was three months ago, and I haven't recieved a reply yet. He was probably busy with his training, but part of me couldn't help but wonder if this Matsuri chick was keeping him busy in ways I didn't want to think of.  
Was I seriously getting jealous over some girl I didn't know?  
Gaara didn't really say anything nice about her in his letter.  
He also said he doesn't feel anything for her, so I shouldn't be too worried.  
Should I?

"Mayu?" Naruto's voice interrupted my thoughts again.  
"Oh, yes?" I replied sheepishly, feeling embarassed for always getting caught in a day dream.  
"Man you're so weird lately... anyways, Kakashi-sensei said we can take a break and go home now. Wanna go get some ramen?" He suggested.  
I smiled and nodded my head. "Ramen sounds nice." I said, linking arms with Naruto and heading off towards Ichiraku Ramen!  
It was a long walk from where we were, but I could manage!  
"So, Mayu.. " Naruto stopped. I stopped walking as well and turned to face him. He had a depressing aura around him.  
"I'm sorry I couldn't bring Sasuke back." He said sadly. I shook my head and pulled him into a hug.  
It seems I've shocked him.  
"Naruto..I've said this once and I'll say it a thousand more times. I don't miss Sasuke. I don't care! As long as you're safe that's all that matters to me." I told him.  
I've told everybody this, but nobody seems to believe me.  
They all think that I'm in denial, but it's the truth.  
I don't love Sasuke anymore.  
Even though it seems foolish, I think I might be falling in love with Gaara...  
He is my motivation, it's because of him that I want to become a stronger person. I want to become a ninja, so that I'll have a better chance of meeting him again someday.  
Hopefully when I run into him again, I'll finally be able to see him.  
I can't wait to take these stupid bandages off, I want to see so bad.

In just one week, if my eyes feel alright enough, I can finally remove my bandages and be able to see. Atleast, that was the plan. These things have a 80% success rate, and with my luck I was part of the unfortunate 20% who still couldn't see even after surgery


	19. Chapter 19: Bandage Removal

***Dear readers, I don't remember everything from every episode of Naruto so I'm improvising, sorry for any confusion :3**

"I did it!"  
I screamed when I reached the top of the tree.  
"Way to go Mayu, I'm impressed." Kakashi-sensei's lazy voice praised.  
Today Kakashi-sensei was teaching me how to focus my chakra to certain points of my body.  
He already taught me how to run real-fast like a ninja, and how to focus my chakra to my hands and feet when using Taijutsu. Today, he taught me how to climb things like trees and buildings by focusing my chakra to my feet.  
"I'm impressed, really. It took Naruto and Sasuke hours to learn this move. It only took you minutes." He said, turning the page of his book.  
I smiled.  
My ninja training has been going real great lately! I'm still not as good as the other Genin though, but by the way things are going in a couple of months hopefully I'll be just as good.  
I leapt down from my tree branch, expecting to be only a few feet off the ground but instead I was up a lot farther than I had originally thought. I must have fell through the air for a full two minutes before hitting earth.

"Kakashi-sensei..." I said, walking towards the lazy Jonin.  
"Hm?" He replied, turning another page.  
"Every other Genin in Konoha has some sort of specialty.. do you think I have one?" I asked timidly.  
I could feel Kakashi's eyes, or in his case eye, on me. It was a bit awkward to have an adult staring at me, especially a male, so I nervously began to fidget with my shirt.  
"Well." He began, I heard a soft thud meaning he closed his book. "I must say, I've never met a Genin with such a keen chakra-sense such as you. Nor have I ever met somebody who was able to harness and control their chakra quite like you can. You'd be a great tracker ninja, especially for search-and-rescue missions or seek-and-destroy ones."  
I smiled. I'll admit, I didn't aim to become a ninja just to hunt down people and kill them, but I guess this is better than nothing.  
"Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" I said, lunging forward for a hug.  
I've never seen anyone tense up quite like Kakashi-sensei did, he was so awkward! He couldn't even hug me back, he just patted my head with one hand and my back with the other.  
"Now now no need to hug me. Really..." He said quickly and nervously. I laughed and stepped back from him.  
"Thank you for training me Kakashi-sensei. I know you're a Jonin so you're probably very busy, but It was nice of you to take time from your busy schedule to train a blind and crippled civilian like me." I said with a smile.  
I heard Kakashi chuckle from in front of me. "I wouldn't have agreed to train you if I didn't see potential. And I do, I see a great amount of potential in you, Mayu Nakamura." He said rather seriously. Which was strange, Kakashi-sensei was rarely ever serious.  
I have... potential?" I repeated, fussing with the bandages over my eyes.  
"You do. I see a lot of potential in you. Your ability to focus your chakra to certain points in your body is great, you could easily excel in Taijutsu, or even as a Medical Ninja. Your keen sense and hearing would make you a perfect tracker ninja, or even somebody great to have on missions. You could hear an incoming kunai long before anyone saw it coming. You can do great things, and become an even greater ninja if you put your mind to it. And you have." Kakashi-sensei told me.  
I was about to give him the biggest thank-you speech of my life but he cut me off.  
"Now, training is done for today. Tomorrow you will have a test, a final test, and if you pass that you'll successfully become a Genin of Konoha. Are you ready or do you think you'd like to enroll in the ninja academy for next year?"  
"Are you freaking joking?! I want the test, I'm ready for the test! Bring it on Kakashi-sensei!" I said jumping up in down.  
I heard a chuckle coming from Kakashi. "Alright, I'll let you know when the test is. For now, go rest up." He said, before I heard the signature "poof" of a disappearing ninja.

Skipping the whole way home I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow.  
'What's the test? Why so soon? I can't wait!'  
Kakashi-sensei has been training me for months now. We've covered chakra control, chakra sense, weapons usage, jutsu's and hand signs, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, substitution Jutsu, running like a ninja, jumping like a ninja, stealth tactics, and disguising your jutsu's, as well as a bunch of other stuff that a ninja has to know. But was I really ready?  
I guess you could say I'm a special case. Just six months ago I was that blind girl with the game leg everybody looked out for. Now, I'm on my way to becoming a ninja. I didn't even have to enroll in the academy, I just found a Jonin and began training.  
Maybe I'm just lucky?

When I got home, Naruto was gone. I didn't think anything of it, he was always vanishing randomly so I figured he'd be back someday.  
I walked through the house and straight into my room, throwing myself on my bed.  
"What a day..." I said to myself, rolling over onto my back. "I can't wait for tomorrow..."  
Apparently I was more tired than I thought, because I felt myself falling asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.  
Because my eyes were recently operated on, and I had bandages covering them to prevent infection and to speed the healing process, my eyes were always closed meaning I could easily fall asleep while sitting, or laying down.  
Giving in, I let sleep take over. I needed my rest after all.

_"Mayu..."  
I turned around. It was Sasuke's voice behind me.  
"Sasuke..." I said, trying to sound angry. Honestly, I was a little worried, and nervous, and at the same time happy he was talking to me.  
"I'm leaving." He said. I gasped._  
_"Leaving? But.. where?" I stammered. I heard him walk towards me, I tried to back away but I ended up tripping on my bed and stumbling backwards. "Sasuke why are you..."_  
_"I'm sorry, Mayu. But this has to be done. I have to leave, to become stronger. With Orochimaru's training, I can do it. I can become strong enough to kill Itachi. I'm too weak to do it on my own. So I'm leaving, I'm going to join Orochimaru."_  
_I couldn't say anything afterwards. I was stunned, shocked, I felt betrayed._  
_"I still love you Mayu, and I always will. Please don't forget that..." He said sadly. I felt my bed sink in on either side of me, and Sasuke's breath was hot on my face._  
_A pair of lips met mine, and even though I usually would enjoy a kiss from Sasuke, this time it caused tears to fall uncontrollably._  
_When he pulled away, I tried to sit up, to tell him to stay and change his mind, I wanted to tell him that I still loved him too._  
_But he was gone, just as soon as the kiss ended. Sasuke Uchiha left._  
_I cried myself to sleep that night._  
_Sasuke was gone, and there was nothing I could do to stop it._

My eyes flew open.  
I was laying in my bed, still in my outfit from lastnight, my hair slipped out of it's ponytail overnight and was now a tangled mess behind my head.  
"A... dream.." I muttered, sitting up trying to rub sleep from my eyes. These bandages were really annoying.  
I don't understand why I dreamt about the day Sasuke left. The final words he spoke to me caused me great pain back then, but now.. they only made me angry.  
"Stupid Uchiha..."  
I made a vow, the day Kakashi-sensei agreed to take me under his wing, that the nextime I see Sasuke Uchiha I'll beat him into a bloody pulp.  
He was going to regret calling me weak..  
Blinking I tried to wake myself up more, but everything was still just a dark grey colour. I was still half asleep.  
'Wait a second...' I thought to myself, my body now fully alert. 'My eyes are... open..'  
Slowly I sat up, my heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour. I closed my eyes again, fear taking over.  
"Naruto!" I yelled as loud as I could, sensing his chakra in the next room. "NARUTO!" I yelled even louder.  
That time it seemed to have the affect I wanted because I heard a startled yell, a bang and then hurried footsteps rushing into my room.  
"What? What? I'm awake!" He yelled, forcing my door open. Judging by the loud craash I heard he kicked my door down...  
"Naruto..." I said shakily, reaching up to grasp my bandages.  
"Mayu what are you..." I heard him say, but he trailed off, focused on what I was doing.  
I grasped the bandages over my eyes, my hands were shaking and I was nervous.  
'What if I can't see...' I thought to myself. 'What if I can't see... and the surgery failed?'  
Swallowing my fear as best as I could I decided, there was nothing else I could do. I had to try...  
With one swift pull, I ripped the bandages off of my face and tossed them onto the floor.

I slowly opened my eyes.  
My vision was blurry, very very blurry.  
All I could really see was, a twist of colours and shades all blurred together.  
Everything was... bright.  
Turning my head towards Naruto, I saw a large blurr that started out yellow, and then faded into orange.  
"Naruto.." I said, tears welled up in my eyes.  
"Mayu.. can you... can you see me?" He asked.  
I nodded my head. "You're very blurry but I.. can see the colours, and shapes and.."  
I couldn't talk anymore. I began to cry uncontrollably, and within seconds Naruto rushed over and pulled me into a hug.  
"You can see Mayu. It's blurry, but it's a start. You can see.." He said, and by the sounds of things he too was crying.  
I smiled, these weren't tears of fear or sadness, they were pure tears of joy.

_"Mayu?"  
"Yes Sasuke?"  
"If you could see... what's the first thing you would want to see?" He asked me. I frowned, the answer should have been obvious.  
"I want to see you." I told him, resting my head on his shoulder.  
"Really?"  
"Really."_

I opened my eyes, all I saw was the colour orange. Naruto's shoulder...  
My heart felt heavy as I remembered the conversation with Sasuke just months ago.  
We used to be so happy, and now thanks to a series of unfortunate events, we were reduced to this.  
The first thing I ended up seeing wasn't Sasuke, but Naruto.  
And honestly, I'd much rather look at him than Sasuke right now.


	20. Chapter 20: If Gaara Could See Me Now

"This is perfectly normal." Doctor Miyamoto said, shining more light into my eyes with a tiny black thing.  
It was really annoying, he's been shining this super bright light into my eyes for the past two hours and by now I just wanted to punch him in the throat.  
"It is?" I asked, closing the eye he was shining the light into, hoping he'd get the hint. But he didn't, he just shone it into my other eye.  
"Very normal. After reconstructive eye surgery, your eyes need time to heal and adjust. You can't expect to remove the bandages and see 20\20 instantly. You're going to see nothing but blurriness for a few months, but your vision will improve and in about a year or two you'll be seeing just as good as Naruto does." Doctor Miyamoto explained.  
I nodded. "Alright so..."  
"Basically, your vision will slowly improve. At first you won't notice it, but after a few months you'll notice a large improvement. Right now, I'll advise you to get used to all sorts of lights, colours and shades and just try to focus as best as you can. Pretty soon you'll be able to make out arms and legs, and facial features." He told me.  
I smiled, I was very happy.  
I focused on Doctor Miyamoto, but he was just a blob of blurry colours. He had no hair as far as I could tell, and he was very short. He was all white, so his figure looked very strange to me.  
He poked at me with some light some more then held up some coloured paper and asked me to tell him what I saw, and after doing that for another 30 minutes he let me do.  
Hopping off the table, I turned towards the big red blurry door and found my own way out.  
When I left, a bunch of blurry colour were waiting for me outside the door.

"Mayu!" Naruto said, as a big yellow and orange blur jumped up off the bench and greated me with a hug.  
"Hey guys." I said with a smile.  
A giant pink and red blur stood up. "Hey Mayu how are you feeling?" It was Sakura.  
I always knew Sakura had pink hair, and that she wore read, but I never imagined her to be**_ this_ **pink..  
Better. He told me that this is normal and my vision has to adjust on it's own. I'm gonna see like this for a while but he says it should slowly improve. I can't wait to be able to actually see what you guys look like." I said with a laugh.  
"I'm super excited too Mayu." Naruto yelled in my ear.  
"Don't be so loud. I'm just getting over being blind I don't wanna be deaf too." I said, covering my ears.  
"Yeah you idiot!" Sakura yelled, and then I stood there and watched as the orange and pink blurs began to fight.  
"This is normal." A monotone voice came from behind me.  
"Kakashi-sensei!" I yelled, turning around in surprise.  
He was a very tall blue and grey blur.  
"I see you can see. Well done." He said lazily, holding an orange thing in his hand. I assumed it was his pervert book and shook my head.  
"So... about that final test..." I began. "Is it too late?"  
"Hmm..." Was all I heard.  
"Wait, test?!" Two voices yelled simultaneously. "What test?!"  
"Mayu's final test. To prove to me she's ready to become an official Genin of Konoha." Kakashi said.  
The anticipation was high, I just wanted him to spit it out already. I could tell Naruto and Sakura did too.  
"Your final test, is to complete a mission." Kakashi-sensei said. My eyes widened, and Sakura and Naruto both gasped.  
"A mission? No way! Kakashi-sensei, Mayu's not experienced enough for a mission yet!" Sakura protested.  
"Yeah! And, we didn't even get our first ninja-mission until like, three months into training." Naruto yelled, he then came to some sort of a realization. "Oh wait, our first missions were stupid things like weed picking and dog walking, this shouldn't be too difficult for Mayu to do, right Kakashi-sensei?"  
'Weed picking... dog walking? Doesn't seem like a challenge to me.' I thought, smirking at the thought of how easy this was going to be.  
"Her mission won't be anything like that, Naruto." Kakashi-sensei said, suddenly serious. I swallowed. 'It.. won't?'  
"Lady Tsunade sees a lot of potential in Mayu, and asked that she be given an actual ninja mission. If she completes it, she can become a Genin." He explained.  
'Lady Tsunade...' I thought. 'She doesn't even know me.'  
My thoughts were brought back to when Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage.

_ It was five months ago.  
"Hey Mayu! Guess what? Pervy sage knows somebody who could replace Lord Hokage!" Naruto yelled in my ear.  
"Ow watch it! My hearing is super sensitive... now what are you going on about?" I yelled, rubbing my now sore ear.  
"Well... theres this, Tsunade-chick who's apparently stronger than Pervy sage himself! Everyone wanted Pervy sage to be the Fifth Hokage but, he turned it down. So they're all after this Tsunade chick!" He explained, rather enthusiastically. "I hear she's the strongest and most beautiful Kunoichi in the world... Man I'm gonna kick her ass someday and become the next Hokage!"  
I face palmed._

_ One month after that...  
I was walking through Konoha, admiring the sounds of the chirping birds, anxious to meet Doctor Miyamoto, when I sensed an unfamiliar chakra lurking about.  
'Who's that I wonder...' I thought to myself, walking towards the chakra.  
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" I heard a girl scream. I then heard a bunch of screaming, crashing, explosions and then running. I stood there dumbfounded.  
"What... just happened?" I asked outloud, hoping somebody heard me and would answer my question.  
"Oh, you must be Mayu." The once-screaming-now-polite lady said. "I'm Tsunade, the new Hokage."  
"So you're Tsunade? Tell me, was that Naruto and this 'Pervy Sage' guy I just heard running away in terror?" I asked with a laugh.  
"Don't you know it..." Tsunade said, also laughing._

"Potential..." I echoed Kakashi-sensei's words. "Potential as what?" I asked, squinting towards his blurry figure.  
"You'll see. Now for your mission.."  
The area went silent. I couldn't even hear any breathing it was so quiet, all I heard was the rapid thumping of my heart. I was so nervous, my first mission that could also be my last, come on Kakashi-sensei spit it out!  
"There's a small group of ninja's, about 5 or 6, that's been sneaking into town at night and stealing livestock, attacking women and raiding our storehouses, stealing scrolls, kunai and other valuables. We need you to go into the woods, track them down and take them out."  
I gulped. "You want me... to... to track down an entire group of ninjas?! By myself?!" I practically screamed at my blurry sensei.  
"That's right. Don't worry, they don't seem like much of a threat. Just... annoying really." Kakashi-sensei said, his voice thick with amusement.  
"Kakashi-sensei, that's too dangerous!" Sakura tried to protest, but I stuck my arm out to stop her.  
"It's alright Sakura, I can do this. I have to try." I said, trying to sound brave. But inside, I was scared.  
"Good. Meet me at the gates to Konoha tomorrow morning at 7am. Be alert and well equipped. That's all." Kakashi-sensei said before disappearing in a poof of smoke.  
"Mayu, you don't have to do this." Naruto said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him.  
"I'll be fine Naruto. Believe it!" I said, giving him a small smile and a thumbs up. I heard him laugh a little, but then he went back to frowning. He was worried I could tell.  
I was worried too, I felt like I was going to be sick.  
'I might die...' I thought to myself. 'But I have to try, I have to...'  
I raised my eyes to the sky. It was a mix of colours, blue, yellow, white, and the light was bright.  
A million thoughts racing through my head.

When I woke up the next morning. Everything was black, but I didn't mind I was still used to being blind.  
I rolled out of bed and checked my clock, "5am.." I groaned.  
I headed into my bathroom, and stood in front of the mirror. This was actually my first time looking at myself in the mirror in ten years..  
My hair is now dark brown, it darkened quite a bit over the years, and it fell just below my shoulders. My bands were cut and parted to the left, with smaller strands framing my face. It wasn't as wavy as it used to be, but it was still slightly wavy.  
My face was too distorted for me to be able to tell what colour my eyes were.  
Sighing sadly to myself I went over to the shower and turned it on, undressing and slipping in under the warm water hoping it would help wake me up.  
"Curse you Kakashi-sensei." I mumbled as I reached for my shampoo. "I'm never up this early."

After my shower, I went and put on my new ninja-outfit. I bought it the other day with Hinata, excited to have the chance to finally become a Genin.  
It was a pair of black shorts just like Sakura's, I tried them on the other day and found them very comfy, and a black sleeve-less turtle neck. Underneath I wore a white tanktop slightly longer than my turtle neck so people wouldn't think I was weird and wore a jumpsuit. (Sorry Lee.)  
I had my kunai holster on my left leg because I was left handed and I wore bandages over my right knee in order to keep it from twisting when I ran.  
Tying my hair in a ponytain I looked at myself in the mirror.  
"Right Mayu.. you look like a ninja." I said to the blurry reflection in front of me. "Now, you just need your headband..."  
I went downstairs and popped a blueberry bagel in the toaster, and got myself a big cold glass of water topped with ice.  
"I need my strength." I said, checking the clock. It was 6am, only an hour left..  
My heart began to race at the thought of my first ninja mission.  
'What if I fail..' I thought to myself. 'What if... what if I die?'  
I took a shaky sip of water. 'I can't give up.'  
_"You were always weak Mayu."  
_"I won't give up!" I told myself.  
My bagel popped in the toaster and I jumped ten feet in the air.  
'Pay more attention Mayu!' I mentally scolded myself, putting strawberry cream cheese on one half of my bagel. 'If that was a ninja you'd be dead.'

"Just remember everything Kakashi-sensei taught you." I said, walking towards the gates to Konoha. "Just remember, and use your senses for crying out loud!"  
I've been giving myself mental pep-talks for the past half hour, but none of them seem to be working.  
I looked up, the gate to Konoha was only a few feet away. There, standing in front waiting for me, was Kakashi-sensei.  
"Good morning Mayu." He said, reading his orange blur-I mean book.  
"M-morning." I said nervously, hoping he didn't notice.  
"Don't be nervous. You can take these guys, trust me." He said, closing his book.  
"Kakashi-sensei, may I ask..." I began. "Why can't the Jonin go get these guys? And... shouldn't there be guards all over the front gate to Konoha each night? How can these guys get past?"  
Kakashi-sensei seemed taken back by my sudden question.  
"Well..." He said, I could have swore he sounded nervous. "We're all very busy. A lot of our guards have been badly beaten by the invasion of Konoha and, well, they're very sneaky ninja's." He said quickly. Clearing his throat he continued. "Anyways, enough chit-chat. I'll brief you on your mission."  
My ears were on alert.h  
"There's five of them, and they're all camping exactly 5 miles to the North-east of here. They're by the Hiruzen river that flows through the wind nation into the fire nation. They won't expect us to send anyone after them, so try your best to get them by surprise and pick them off one by one." He told me. I nodded. "And just remember everything I taught you, and try to use your own techniques, your specialties." Kakashi-sensei said, I could have swore I saw his eye twinkle. It must be my eyesight messing with me  
"Now, you should get started. I'll be waiting here for when you return, if you're not back in two days, we'll send a tracker ninja after your body.." He said the last part rather creepily. I gulped.  
"Hai... sensei." I said, walking towards the gates to Konoha.  
As soon as I was outside of them, they swung closed with a heavy thud.  
'Here goes nothing...' I thought, focusing my chakra to my feet and running as fast as I could towards the North-East towards the forest.

As soon as I stepped outside of Konoha, I could sense them. They were exactly where Kakashi-sensei told me they would be, five miles to the North-East of Konoha.  
I could pinpoint their exact location as soon as I stepped foot in the forest. I guess ten years of being blind really does pay off, my chakra sense was excellent!  
When I started into the forest, I began to plot my moves carefully  
'First, I'll conceal my chakra and figure out what formation their in. If they're in a circle, I'll pick out the strongest one first and then when the rest stand up to defend, I'll hide in the shadows and take them all out..' I thought, leaping from tree branch to tree branch. 'Actually, I'll just do that anyways.' I said smirking.  
I was feeling more confident than I originally had, this was hopefully going to be an easy task for me. Unless the ninja I was tracking were like, seven feet tall and could lift mountains with one hand. Then I was surely going to die.  
I was about three miles away from them when I sensed something was weird with their chakra.  
'Something.. doesn't seem right.' I thought to myself, closing my eyes. When my eyes were closed, I felt like I could focus more on their chakra patterns.  
It only took a few minutes.  
But I figured it out.  
I smirked to myself. "Can't fool me..." I said, leaping off the tree branch I was on and continuing my journey towards the five ninja waiting for me by the Hiruzen River.  
'This is going to be easy..' I thought to myself, feeling more confident than ever before.

'There's five alright.' I said, silently hopping down onto a lower tree-branch to get a better look. They were all just a mess of blurs and colours in my eyes, but I could still see right through their disguise.  
There was a fire in the middle. Three were sitting around the fire, one was pacing to the right and the other was leaning against a rock a little ways away.  
"Where is she?" One by the fire asked. Judging by their voice, she was clearly a girl.  
"She'll be here soon." The one leaning on the rock said, confident and completely unaware that I was watching him. The one who was pacing stopped.  
"How can you be so sure Ka-I mean, yeah how can you be so sure?" He didn't even try to mask his voice.  
"Because I know." The one leaning against a rock said.  
The four men and one girl were all dressed in black from what I could tell, the three by the fire were blonde, the one by the rock was a burnette and the one pacing had a gross shade of green as his hair colour.  
"I wish she'd hurry up. I'm bored..." Another ninja sitting by the fire groaned.  
'Now's my chance!' I thought, performing handsigns. My tactic was; Send a shadow clone in to distract them while I picked them off silently using Earth Style. Naruto fell for it, and so did Shikamaru and Sakura, hell these guys might too. All of them but one maybe...

"Maybe she got eaten by something in the forest, or mayb-" The one pacing began to say, but was cut off by my kunai hitting him in the shoulder.  
"Ah! She's here!" He yelled, dislodging the kunai and looking in my direction. I wasn't there though, I was somewheres in hiding.  
"Where'd she go?!" The girl yelled in disbelief, looking around for me. "I can't even sense her chakra."  
"She's good..." The one leaning against the rock said, standing up from his sitting position. "Very good..." He said.  
They were all looking around frantically, in the trees, in the river, anywheres.  
Apparently I was better at hiding my chakra than I had originally thought I was. Smirking I pulled out a few more kunai.  
"Show yourself!" The girl yelled, pulling out a katana. I threw my kunai at her, and leapt from my spot in the trees. She deflected them with her kunai, and threw shuriken of her own towards my body.  
Leaping from tree branch to tree branch was harder than it looked, I wasnt' fast enough to evade her attacks and ended up getting hit in the leg.  
Luckily I summoned more than one shadow clone, and just before that one disappeared in an obvious poof, I sent a second one out of the shadows to attract their attention so they wouldn't know I was using clones.  
"How did she get behind me so fast?!" The girl yelled, trying to hit me with her kunai. But I heard it long before I saw it, and stopped it with my kunai.  
"I'm just that good." I said with a smirk, pushing her away.  
This time one of the blonde men tried attacking me with Taijutsu, I managed to block most of his attacks, although he did get in a few good blows to my face and arms.  
I decided just blocking wasn't going to work so I decided to try something that I saw Sakura do to Naruto once.  
Suddenly I dropped to the ground, startling the ninja, and with one swift movement I swept his feet out from underneath of him and as he was falling forward I used an upper-cut to land a blow to his chin knocking him into a daze.

My clone did a good job fighting the ninja off, and whenever they died I made sure to send in another one to distract them so my original could die in peace.  
Once they were wore down enough, I decided to use Earth Style.  
'Earth Style, Head Hunter Jutsu!' I mentally screamed, reaching up from the earth and grabbing the girl by the ankles.  
"What the-"She screamed, as I pulled her into the earth until only her head was showing.  
The others turned, and ran towards her to help. When they had their backs turned, I chose this moment to strike.  
"Water Style! A Thousand Needles of Ice!"  
The water from the lake rose up into the air and suddenly froze into dozens of sharp ice needles.  
All of the remaining ninja's noticed except for one- the stupid one with the green hair.  
"Oh no! Saku-I mean, random girl ninja! I will save you!" He said, dropping to his knees frantically trying to dig the ninja out of the dirt.  
"Naruto watch out!" She yelled, but it was too late.  
The ninja was hit.  
And as he was hit, one of the blonde ninja's that was hanging out by the fire began running towards him to see if he was alright. That left him open for another attack.  
I leapt out from my hiding place under the earth startling him, and tackled him to the ground holding a kunai to his throat.  
"I win." I said with a smile.  
Their faces were priceless.

"Alright the shows over you guys." I said getting up from the ninja. "Wh-what do you mean?" He stammered, standing up after me.  
"I know it's you. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei." I said. Everybody around me gasped.  
The ninja who was leaning against the rock calmly walked out of the forest, and then poofed into the blur that I know as Kakashi-sensei.  
"Well done. How did you know?" He asked.  
"I knew it was you guys as soon as I stepped into the forest." I explained. "The moment I left Konoha, I could sense your chakra. When I entered the forest and started heading in your direction, something was weird about the chakra patterns I was sensing. About three miles back, I stopped and realized it was you five using a transformation jutsu."  
After I said that, two of the blonde ninja's vanished leaving only one behind. They were clones!  
The green haired guy was Naruto, the blonde girl was Sakura, the one leaning against the rock was Kakashi-sensei, the other two blondes were clones disguised with a transformation jutsu.  
"I also know you're all just clones. The real you's are all hiding in the forest." I said matter-of-factly. "I knew this when I realized your chakra wasn't as strong. Copies have chakra of course, but the chakra the clones contain isn't anywheres near as strong as the original's, especially yours Naruto." I said, with a smile.  
As soon as I said this everyone vanished into a poofs of smoke, and the real ones emerged from the woods.  
"Well done Mayu. I'm impressed." Kakashi-sensei said with a smile.  
"Yeah impressive." Sakura said with fake enthusiasm on my behalf. She didn't seem too pleased that I passed...  
Naruto came up and put his arm around me. "Proud of you!" He said pulling on my ponytail. I laughed, yanking it free from his grasp.  
"I try." I said. I looked up at Kakashi-sensei. "Does this mean I pass?" I asked with hopefulness in my voice.  
"You pass." He said, walking towards me, stopping when he was inches away. "Congratulation Mayu Nakamura, you're now an official Genin of Konoha." He said, pulling something out of his pocket and handing it to me. "There was never a doubt in my mind that you could pull it off."  
I tookt he object he handed me. It was a headband.  
Tears came to my eyes. "Thank you so much Kakashi-sensei." I said, looking at my headband. It was beautiful..  
"But Kakashi-sensei.." Naruto said. "Mayu needs to be on a ninja squad. All the teams are full... she can't join a squad until next year."  
My heart sunk.  
"Not true Naruto." Kakashi-sensei said. My eyes lit up. "As of a few months ago, squad seven is one-man short."  
My heart skipped a beat.  
"I spoke to Lady Tsunade and she agreed to let Mayu be Sasuke's replacement. If he comes back, which at this rate I highly doubt he will, Mayu will be moved to another squad. Until then, Mayu Nakamura, welcome to Squad 7."  
Naruto grabbed my hands and we both started to jump around for joy. When we were done, I glanced over at Sakura. She seemed pissed, very pissed.  
'She's not too happy I'm replacing Sasuke...' I thought to myself sadly. Sakura and I were always so close, what happened to her?  
"And that's not all." Kakashi-sensei said, catching the attention of the three Genin's standing before him. "Mayu you have the keenest chakra sense out of everyone in Konoha, even keener than that of Lady Tsunade's. And you managed to mask your chakra so well that two experienced Genin and a Jonin couldn't even find you. Lady Tsunade see's a lot of promise in you and wants to train you to become a tracker ninja in the future."  
My face broke out into the biggest smile yet. They want to make ME, a tracker ninja?  
This was possibly the greatest day of my life.  
I mean it.  
I was so happy right now.  
A smile was permanently plastered to my face the entire walk back to Konoha.

Ten years ago I was attacked and lost my eyesight.  
Nine years ago I fell from a roof and broke my leg.  
Eight Years ago I met and fell in love with Sasuke Uchiha.  
8 Months ago, I met Gaara of the Desert, and developed a sort-of bond with him.  
7 Months ago, I got in countless fights with my boyfriend, and then we broke up.  
6 Months ago, the Chunin exams ended, I developed strong feelings for Gaara, Sasuke left the village to seek out Orochimaru, and then Gaara left for Sunagakure.  
5 Months ago, Tsunade became the Hokage, and I started my ninja training.  
One month ago, Doctor Miyamoto performed reconstructive eye surgery on me.  
Lastnight I opened my eyes and saw for the very first time in ten years.  
Earlier this morning I was assigned my very first ninja mission, and after cracking the code and succeeding..  
Here I am, a Konoha Genin.  
Possible future Tracker Ninja.  
I stopped walking and lifted my eyes towards the sky. The sun was now at it's highest, the light shone brightly in my new eyes, and the heat warmed my face.  
'Gaara... how are you doing?' I thought to myself, my thoughts trailing back to the Sand Genin I had grown so close to months before.  
If only Gaara could see me now...

"Hey Naruto?" I asked the blabber-mouth in front of me. He hadn't shut up since we started walking back to the village.  
"Yeah?"  
"What colour are my eyes?" I wondered.  
He walked closer to me.  
"They're very light brown." He said.  
"Light brown..." I repeated, stealing a glance at the sun one last time before continuing home.


	21. Chapter 21: Kimimaro

***I know that what I'm writing didn't really happen but I don't wanna go by the episode-plot-lines exactly so I'm changing it and making it my own! :)**

I tied my headband around my neck, the only place I felt like putting it.  
Too many ninja wore it on their head's, and so far only Hinata wore it on her neck as far as I knew. I wanted to be unique!  
Today, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Neji and I were going on an adventure.  
A Sasuke retrieval adventure.  
Yippee...

In reality, the Sound Four featuring Sasuke Uchiha has been spotted roaming the forest around Konoha and Naruto immediately volunteered us to go find him in an attempt to persuade him to return to the village.  
I didn't wanna go but Kakashi-sensei said I had no other choice. He told me they needed my tracking skills.  
Our mission objectives were "Eliminate the Sound Village Ninja's, and try to persuade Sasuke Uchiha to return to Konoha. If Sasuke refuses-he must be eliminated as well."  
But of course I knew that Naruto wouldn't let us eliminate him.  
He still believed in Sasuke.  
I was the only one who didn't.

We all departed from Konoha at 8am.  
We weren't supposed to leave for another three days but some scouts encountered the Sound Four in the forest and they were all killed but one who barely managed to escape.  
He ran back to Konoha with one mutilated foot and a missing arm to warn us they were near, and that they were attacking all ninja who passed through the forest.  
That was probably the only real reason why I didn't fake dead and not go. I couldn't just sit by and let them pick off innocent ninja's, especially when this isn't even their territory.

"Mayu, do you sense anyone?" Shikamaru asked a few miles into the forest.  
I nodded.  
"Yeah... they're not that far away." I told him.  
It was true, I could sense them long before I even got into the forest, even though they were miles away from us. I was in front, leading the way while the others were trailing behind me.  
"I can sense something.. I wasn't sure what it was but, now I know. It's them." Shikamaru said.  
"My Byakugan can't see anything." Neji added, scanning the area with his Byakugan. His face was still a bit blurry, but I could see that his eyes were a pale white colour and he had lines around his eyes. Veins perhaps. "They're too far away."  
"I can smell blood..." Kiba told us, sniffing the air. I could hear his dog Akamaru whimpering from his jacket, and I felt sorry for the little guy.  
"Maybe you should've left Akamaru behind. He seems scared." I told Kiba.  
"No way! I never leave without Akamaru, he'll be okay won't you bud?" "Yip yip!" Akamaru replied nervously.  
I smiled, I thought they were absolutely adorable. I've always wanted a pet, but being blind I couldn't really take care of one. Now that I'm kind-of not blind anymore, I guess I'll get a cat. I like cats, cats are cute. Yep, I decided then and there that I was gonna get me a cat.  
"Alright let's go!" Naruto yelled, startling me and scaring Kiba so bad he almost fell off the branch. "I wanna kick some butt and find Sasuke!"  
Rock Lee punched him in the head.  
"Naruto! Are you insane? One does not simply yell loudly in the forest, especially when there is a good chance that the enemy is near."  
I giggled. Rock Lee was so.. formal, and his way of talking made everything sound funny.  
He carried a flask of some sort with him, and was drinking from it quite frequently. I wasn't sure what it was, but he brought it with him from Konoha and has been chugging it ever since. Maybe it was water, or some sort of pain-killer for his wounds. Whatever it was, it smelled real bad.  
I'm also glad that his injuries were cured by Lady Tsunade. If it wasn't for her, Rock Lee wouldn't have been able to become a ninja.  
"Alright alright... sorry." Naruto said sadly, rubbing his sore head.  
"We should keep moving." I told them, trying to avoid further yelling and outbursts. They all nodded and we leapt off the branch we were perched on.

We ran for about two-three miles before I stopped, causing everyone else to stop as well.  
"Something's... odd." I told them, closing my eyes. I could sense their eyes on me with curiosity and impatience.  
"What do you mean.. odd?" Shikamaru questioned, walking over beside me.  
"I can sense their chakra... there's five of them. But they're not together." I said. "Sasuke is directly to the North of us. There's... a weaker chakra to the North East, a slightly stronger one to the North West, and to the East there's one very strong chakra source, and one moderatly strong Chakra source."  
Everyone grew silent.  
"We should split up, just as they have." Rock Lee said, spontaneously catching on fire. He had a habit of doing that, so did Gai. It was supposed to be dramatic but I thought it to be rather creepy.  
"I agree." Neji said. "I'll take the one to the North West."  
"I call the weak one to the North East. I'm not in the mood for a lot of confrontation." Shikamaru told us, shoving his hands in his pocket.  
"Akamaru, Mayu, Rock Lee and I will go after the ones to the East." Kiba said petting Akamaru's head.  
"Good cause I want Sasuke." Naruto said through clenched teeth.  
I nodded.  
"Alright." I tied a bright red ribbon to a kunai and lodged it into the tree we were standing on. "We all have our emergency flares, as well as our signal flares. We'll use those to communicate. If we're in serious danger, send up the red emergency flare. If we've successfully eliminated our target, send up the blue signal flare. We'll all meet back here at this spot when we're finished."  
Everybody nodded. I liked this ninja-mission-thing, it was sort of fun.  
We all leapt off in different directions towards our targets.  
'Naruto... don't let your emotions get in the way.' I silently prayed, running to catch up with the over-enthusiastic Rock Lee.

"Alright there's two enemies." I told them once we stopped. "Kiba, I love you and all but Akamaru is really scared. You should head to the North, towards the weaker of the two chakra sources. The one directly to the South of where we are is very strong, and with Akamaru shaking like a leaf it won't be a good idea if you take him on."  
Kiba nodded. "I agree. I don't want to use Akamaru very much tonight, he's shaking pretty bad. Maybe if he see's that we're up against a weaker enemy he'll liven up a bit." He said, snuggling up to his dog. I couldn't help but smile at the sight, even though it was pretty blurry in my eyes.  
"Alright so it is settled then. and I will take on the strong enemy while Akamaru and Kiba will go after the weaker one. Gai-sensei, I will make you proud!" Lee boasted, striking a dramatic pose while bursting into flames once more.  
I tied a blue ribbon to a kunai and lodged it into the ground where we stood.  
"Meet us here when you're finished. Then we'll all head back to the original meeting spot." I told Kiba.  
"Alright. Good luck you two, and Lee, keep Mayu safe." Kiba told him before running off towards his target.  
"Do not worry , I will not allow anyone to harm you." Lee told me, winking, giving me the thumbs-up and giving me a wide grin. I could have swore there was a twinkle in his smile... He then pulled the flask out of his leg-warmer-weight and began to chug it again.  
"I'll be alright, I think. I only became a ninja two days ago so... this is new to me. Just try not to die yourself." I told him, trying to sound brave.  
Lee stopped drinking whatever he was drinking, and after wiping his mouth he nodded in my direction. One of his eyes was half closed, which made me a bit worried.  
"Lead the way , you know where we are going after all." Lee told me with a smile, his voice sounded strange. I smiled and nodded. "I planned on it!"  
The enemy we were going after had an extremely strong chakra source, it was stronger than that of Kakashi-sensei's. Naruto is the only one in our group who would be strong enough to take hm on, but I knew he wanted to go after Sasuke so I volunteered Rock Lee and I to go after him.  
Rock Lee is stronger than I am, so I hope I don't end up becoming a dead-weight.  
"Lee... I began, when I felt us growing closer and closer with each step.  
"Yes Miss. Mayu?"  
"I'm not as strong as you are. If I end up getting in the way, if I drag you down, leave me behind and save yourself."  
" ! I can not leave an ally behind, especially a delicate flower such as yourself.  
"Lee..." He was so stubbourn.  
We landed on a branch, and then launched off of it into a clearing.  
"We're here..." I announced when we landed.  
Sure enough, standing acrossed the field from us, was one dangerous looking guy.

This guy was tall, about 6ft-ish, it was hard to tell from the distance we were at.  
He had white hair and a white outfit on, that much I could tell.  
My vision wasn't 20\20 yet, everything was still blurry, but I was now able to slightly see people's facial features. I had to be standing super-close to them though.  
"So... you are the leaf Genin?" This guy said, his voice was creepy.  
"Yes we are. My name is Rock Lee, the handsome devil of the leaf village, and this is Miss. Mayu Nakamura, the delicate flower of the Leaf Village. We have come to defeat you." Rock Lee yelled acrossed the field, dropping his now empty flask and then standing in his usual pose with one hand behind his back and one hand in front of him.  
I deadpanned.  
'Lee... why did you just...' Lee's eccentric-ness was hard to get used to.  
"I am Kimimaro of the Sound Village. I am the last of the Bone Ninja's. But you needn't remember that, you won't be alive long anyways." He said, walking forward a bit.  
This guy was bad news, I could tell.  
"Lee be careful." I told him, placing a hand on his shoudler. He rested his hand on mine. He reeked of booze.  
"Do not worry *hic*, this will all be over soon." He said, taking off with light speed.  
'Why did I agree to come here?' I asked myself, watching as Lee went head-to-head with this, Bone Ninja. 'I should have sent Shikamaru here. I guess I just...' Rock Lee got a punch in the face. 'Wanted to prove myself...'  
Lee stood up shakily, and began to sway back and forth.  
"Lee... are you okay?" I yelled in the direction of the unsteady green blur.  
"Do not worry... *hic* I am... ooooookay!" He replied. His words were slurred.  
"Lee are you drunk?!"  
"I do not know... *hic* I was not there when it happened." He told me, running off towards Kimimaro.  
"...I have no idea what you just said." I said quietly so only I could hear. "What is wrong with Lee?"  
Then I remembered what Kakashi and Gai were talking about before we left.

_ "Lee has a special talent you see." Gai said to Kakashi-sensei.  
I was sitting on the ground in front of them eating riceballs, hoping something interesting would happen between the two apparent rivals.  
Kakashi-sensei and I were doing some last-minute training before my mission tomorrow, but then Gai popped up and started boasting about how Lee is better than Naruto, and how he's more 'sexy' than Kakashi-sensei is, then he did this weird and extremely disturbing pose before trying to pick a fight with Kakashi-sensei for ignoring him. After the arguement, they began discussing the mission.  
"Lee has many special talents." Kakashi-sensei said emotionlessly. "He's your student so he was doomed to be 'special' from the start.." I could tell he was being sarcastic, but Gai well..  
"He is very special! He is my precious youthful student!" Gai said starting to cry. "I'm glad you can see that Kakashi! But enough talk. Yes Lee is special, but like I said he has a special talent. He has what I like to call the 'drunken-fist.' With this being said, our students will face many challenges in this forest as the Sound Four are a force to be reckoned with. So Lee will be using his drunken fist, Kakashi try not to get too jealous." Gai told Kakashi-sensei, with more enthusiasm than what was needed.  
"Drunken fist eh.." I repeated to myself, shoving more riceballs into my mouth.  
After this conversation Gai and Kakashi-sensei began to fight which was really Kakashi-sensei standing there calmly reading his book whie Gai threw punches and kicks rapidly trying to get a hit in. Kakashi-sensei managed to block him everytime.  
In the end Gai got super angry and then turned into a giant turtle, or he summoned the turtle and then went inside of it, or something equally as creepy. After the turtle appeared I couldn't watch anymore. I told Kakashi-sensei I would be seeing him later and then I gathered up my things and ran away as fast as I could.'W  
Judging by the black-eye Gai now has on his face, Kakashi-sensei won._

"..Drunken fist."  
I watched as Lee threw rapid punches and kicks at Kimimaro, and he even managed to land a few! But Kimimaro blocked most of them.  
'Why am I just standing here?' I asked myself, watching as Lee both scored hits and took them. 'I shoud be helping.'  
I was scared.  
"You have to do something!" I told myself, running out into the battlefield.  
I made it just in time to see Lee flying through the air, about to make a painful landing.  
"Ah Lee!" I yelled, performing handsigns as quick as I could. "Devil's Snare Jutsu!"  
I slammed my hands on the ground and just below Lee, the grass began to grow. As it grew, it morphed into giant Venus-fly traps, tangling Lee up in their vines, suspending him in the air.  
Now usually, this Jutsu is used to take-out opponents but in my case it was used to save Lee from a painful fall. The Venus-fly traps gently lowered Lee to the ground, and then receded back into the earth, taking their original form as just regular grass.  
I sighed in relief, I would have kept my Jutsu up longer, to hopefully catch our opponent but I could tell just by looking at him he could take out my Fly-traps within seconds, making it just a waist of chakra.  
"Lee, are you okay?" I asked him. He groggily sat up, looking at me with one eye open and the other eye closed.  
"Miss- *hic* Mayu. I am okay." He said, standing up. He was still intoxicated, but I could tell he wasn't as bad as he was before.  
"Are you done yet this is getting rather annoying." Kimamaro called as he approached us. I swallowed nervously.  
***I don't remember the fight between Lee, and Kimamaro so I'm improvising!***

"Lee, what do we do?" I asked him. He didn't answer, he just took off towards Kimamaro again.  
'Oh boy..' I thought, running after Lee.  
Kimamaro and Lee once again engaged in hand to hand combat. Every once in a while Kimamaro did this gross thing where he shot bones out of his finger-tips like bullets, but Lee managed to dodge them just fine. He was getting tired, I could tell. He was also starting to sober up.  
I masked my chakra, and then ran around so I was behind the two of them.  
'Wait for it...' Lee went in for a kick. 'Wait for it...' Kimamaro blocked Lee's kick with one arm and sent him flying with the other. 'Now!'  
I jumped on him from behind, lodging a kunai into his back. With one loud startled yell he sent me flying into a tree, only to have me vanish with a 'poof.'  
Meanwhile, the real my emerged from underneath the earth just in time to grab Lee and drag him to safety. Him and I settled on a nearby tree branch.  
I laid Lee down, hoping he would rest and then leaped back into the battle field.  
"Woman that was a brave move. I have not forgotten about you.." He said. Suddenly his body began to twist and crack, as numerous bones began to protrude from beneath his skin.  
'Oh man so gross!' I thought to myself trying not to cringe.  
His whole body was now just a mess of bones, sticking out in various places. The ones that worried me the most, were the ones coming from his arms.  
"You are both going to die soon.." He began. "Because.."  
He then proceeded to give me a speech about how Orochimaru is his master and he lives only to serve the great Orochimaru and how he's a bone ninja and the other bone ninja's died long ago. Orochimaru wants to take over Sasuke's body because he'll die if he doens't. As long as Orochimaru is happy and has Sasuke he can die happy. He mentioned some guy named Jugo, they're friends. Kimamaro has a disease and now he's going to kill us.  
Sometime in the middle of his speech Lee joined me.  
"We too fight for important people." Lee said, I could tell he was sobering up a lot. "We shall not let you win!"  
I frowned, there really wasn't a lot I could do. Most of my jutsu involved water and earth, I had lots of earth around me, but my earth jutsu's wouldn't do much against Kimamaro. That much I was sure of.  
'Why can't I have some special jutsu like everyone else?!' I mentally scolded myself. 'Note to self; Learn special jutsu.'

Lee blindly charged into battle, and once again engaged in Taijutsu with Kimamaro.  
I stood by, trying to decide what I should do to help.  
'I can't just sit here and watch. I need to help...' I encouraged myself. But I was scared, I knew I was too weak to do anything about it.  
"AAAH!" Lee was thrown back.  
"Lee no!" I yelled, rushing over. But Kimamaro stopped me from getting closer to him by shooting bones at me. I had to leap backwards to avoid being hit.  
"Girl you shall not interfere." He spoke, approaching me. I growled. Why did I agree to take on the stronger enemy?  
I put my hands behind my back and began to do hand-signs, something I taught myself to do so the enemy wouldn't know what jutsu I was using.  
Kimamaro leaped into the air and with one swift movement shoved one of his bones straight through my chest. I vanished into a 'poof.'  
I appeared behind him with a kunai ready to strike. But while he was focused on the clone behind him, I was coming from above. I had masked my chakra perfectly, so he wouldn't be aware of me coming after him from the air  
As soon as my clone disappeared with a 'poof', I round house kicked him straight in the face sending him flying backwards a few feet.  
I landed on the ground panting heavily. Lee was struggling to stand up, probably feeling the aftermath of being drunk.  
Kimamaro got back up, wiping the dirt and blood off his face. "That was lucky." He told me. I grinned.  
"Miss. Mayu! how did you learn such awesome moves?" Lee asked me, trying to sound excited. I could tell he was tired.  
"I taught myself how to be sneaky and fool my enemy. It comes in handy. That's how I roll!" I told him with a thumbs up. This seemed to cheer him up a bit.

All of a sudden, two flares came up into the sky. One after the other.  
And while I wish they were blue, they were red.  
My eyes widened with fear.  
"Shikamaru.. Kiba..." I spoke. Lee looked just as worried as I did.  
While we were too buy watching the emergency flares from our allies, Kimamaro was coming at us from the front.  
By the time I noticed it was too late.  
He was inches away from Lee and I, sharpened bone ready to strike.  
I closed my eyes waiting for impact. 'This is the end...'  
But nothing happened.

I opened my eyes, expecting to see Lee covered in blood as a result of some heroic move.  
But instead I saw this strange brown substance.  
It wasn't dirt. It wasn't mud.  
It was light brown, and made of very small grains. It reeked of blood.  
"What?!" Kimamaro yelled.  
"What is going on?" Lee echoed, unsure of what was going on.  
Suddenly, my senses kicked in.  
I could sense somebody's chakra directly behind me. And it was so familiar to me, it cause a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.  
My heart began to pound uncontrolably as I turned my head to glance behind me.  
There behind me stood a man.  
He stood about 5'5, wearing all brown, with his arms folded acrossed his chest.  
He was very calm and composed.  
On his back was a giant brown gourd.  
His hair, was short, messy and red. His eyes, appeared to be turquoise.  
'Could it be...'  
The man looked down at me, and we made eye contact.  
My heart began to flutter rapidly.  
'Gaara...?'

Gaara didn't say anything, he just stood there with his arms crossed staring at me.  
Did he know I could see now? Why is he here? How did he know we were here?  
"Did he hurt you?" He asked me, his voice calm and soft like I remembered.  
"Uh, I ah." I stammered, looking myself over. My black sleeveless turtle neck was ripped on the shoulders, I'm not sure when that happened but it did. I had some minor cuts and scratches, but that was it.  
"I'm okay." I finally told him.  
Gaara said nothing else but simply walked past me towards Kimamaro.  
While they fought, I decided to take care of Lee. It was the least I could do, I felt like I was responsible for his injuries.  
"Lee can you stand?" I asked him, helping him his feet. He seemed a bit shaky, but he could manage.  
"Thank you Miss. Mayu." He told me with a smile. As much as I wanted to smile back, I couldn't bring myself to do it.  
"Lee... I'm so sorry." I told him with my head hanging low. "I was too weak to do anything."  
Lee just stared at me with wide eyes.  
"I wanted to help I really did, but I guess I was too scared. I'm not a strong ninja, I can't do anything brave and I don't have any strong jutsu. I can't use Taijutsu either... I guess I agreed to take on the stronger ninja because.. I wanted to prove something. So, I'm really worry Lee. This is all my fault..."  
Tears were falling down my face now. I really truly felt bad.  
"Maybe I shouldn't have tried to become a ninja."  
"Miss. Mayu please do not talk like that." Lee objected. "You are a wonderful Genin! Your chakra sense is the keenest of them all, and you can mask your chakra so well nobody knows you are near. You are brave, it is true you only managed to hit Kimamaro twice but those moves you used... they were brilliant! You managed to save me from harm twice, and everytime you hit him you fooled him so he did not know where you really were. Miss. Mayu you aren't a powerful Genin yet, but you will be in time. I believe in you."  
"Lee..." I was crying harder now. "Thank you." I hugged him tightly, trying not to further injure him.  
This was the kind of talk I needed, and Lee was right. I will get better in time! I'll make sure that I do...  
Letting go of Lee I wiped my tears away with my hands as best as I could.  
"Now let's go help Gaara!"  
Lee nodded. "Of course!"


	22. Chapter 22: Reuniting and Departing

*I** would like to say "Thank you!" To Narutoluver0002 for starting my story and for all your kind words :)**

I wasn't sure what happened while Lee and I were talking, but Kimamaro was looking weirder than usual.  
He was now all red and brown, with his right arm morphed into a giant drill made out of bone. It was gruesome looking, this time I didn't stop myself from cringing.  
"Ew so creepy." I couldn't help myself, it was truly a creepy sight. Lee had the widest eyes I've ever seen him with and Gaara, as usual, looked completely unphased aside from his heavy breathing.  
Gaara was exhausted, I've never seen him so tired before. Literally, this is my first time actually seeing him.  
As Lee and I approached Gaara, something was tense in the air. Before either of us had a chance to say anything, the ground began to shake and Gaara yelled. "Get down!"  
He threw one of his arms around me and pulled me down to into a kneeling position, Lee following suit.  
I felt us lift up into the air, which was a very strange feeling indeed, and I lost my balance and fell into Gaara. He held me still with one of his arms.  
He still smelled like vanilla.  
It felt like there was an earthquake, but yet we were floating. I could hear a strange sound from below us, it sounded like something or someone was punching holes in the ground.  
When the shaking stopped, I slowly pried my eyes open. I was honestly unsure as to what was going on.  
"Wh..what happened?" I managed to squeak, looking around. The trees looked strange, shorter almost. And there was more sky than I remembered seeing.  
A giant white stick protruding from the ground caught my eye.  
"Are those bones?!" Lee asked, stealing the question from my mouth.  
Sure enough, the ground was nothing but a field of bones. Thousands of sharp, bones sticking out of the ground in various directions.  
We would have been human skewers if Gaara hadn't have come to the rescue. Thanks to him, we were floating in the air on soft sand.  
"Is he... dead?" I dared to ask, looking around for any sign of the freak-show through all these bones. Thankfully, I couldn't see or sense him.  
Gaara nodded. He mumbled something about Kimamaro being brainwashed but I wasn't paying attention. Something in the pit of my stomach was making me feel uneasy.  
Suddenly, Kimimaro's chakra returned out of the blue and he appeared behind us.  
"It's not brainwashing. It's all my own reasoning. What the hell would you know?!" Kimamaro yelled, his drill made out of sharp bone ready to strike.  
The next part happened in slow motion through my eyes. Slow, blurry motion.

I lunged towards Gaara, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I was terrified.  
Gaara held my close with one arm, and held the other one up in front of his face to shield himself. Of course I knew it was human instinct to put your hand in front of your face as a shield, but against a bone drill like Kimamaro's, it was completely useless.  
Lee jumped, and whipped his head around lightning fast, eyes wide open. Shock completely took over.  
I clenched my eyes shut as tight as I could, just waiting for death to come.  
'Atleast I got to see Gaara one last time...' I thought to myself.  
One second passed.  
Then two.  
Then an entire minute.  
Why didn't I feel dead yet?  
I opened my eyes, and all I saw was brown. My nose was filled with the scent of vanilla, and everything was silent except for Gaara's heavy breathing.  
Slowly I raised my head.  
There frozen in time was Kimimaro, ready to strike. Blood dripped from his mouth.  
"He's dead." Gaara said, relaxing a little. I sighed in relief, I was super happy he was finall gone. He was a such a pain...  
My grip on Gaara loosened once I realized what I was doing. It's been 6 months since we last saw each other, I doubted that he still cared for me like he used to.  
I slipped my arms from around his waist and sat lamely beside him, gazing at the creepy but dead body of Kimimaro. Gaara's eyes were burning holes in my head just as they used to. Only this time, they had a different aura to them.

"Kimimaro is just like us. He fought for those he cared about, even if they did not care in return."  
Gaara and Lee were leaning against a tree, gasping for breath, sweat dripping from their foreheads.  
I stood in front of them. I was tired yes, but I wasn't nearly as beat up as they were. Part of me felt sorry, not for them, but for myself. I was never going to be a good ninja, I can't fight, my jutsu's suck. I try my hardest yes but.. I don't think I'll make it very far.  
Lee spoke up. "I am going to look for the others. I will let them know where we are." He said, hopping up and giving me a salute.  
"Lee, you're exhausted. I'll go look for them, I-" I tried to protest but he wouldn't let me.  
"No I will! I could never allow a delicate flower such as yourself to go journey through the woods alone and unaided. No I shall go. Gaara shall keep you safe in my place."  
I was about to protest but he took off running into the forest leaving Gaara and I alone. Not that there was any problem with that, it was just a little awkward.  
When Lee was far enough away, I turned towards Gaara.  
He was standing behind me now, his gaze locked onto mine.  
"Hi..." I said, giving him an awkawrd wave. Gaara began walking towards me.  
Not a word was said between us after that, we just stood centimeters apart gazing into each others eyes. I took this opportunity to get a good look at the man I've been thinking about for the past 6 months.  
He was still taller than I was. He had the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen- I couldn't tell if they were seafoam or turquoise with my vision problem, but I decided it didn't matter either way his eyes were still absolutely beautiful.  
He had very pale skin, and his hair was short and messy and I couldn't tell if it was a red in colour.  
Gaara had no eyebrows as I suspected, but he had big thick rings around his eyes like a raccoon, and the tattoo for "Ai" on his forehead.  
I thought he was the most attractive man on the entire planet.

"Can you see me?" He asked.  
"Yes.." I replied, my voice was barely above a whisper.  
I was so nervous, it felt ilke a swarm of angry bees were buzzing arouns inside of my stomach. My heart, was beating rapidly within my chest.  
My feet began to heat up once more, and I guessed it was as red as Gaara's hair.  
"I can see you." I tried again, still super nervous. I had a million questions in my head I wanted to ask Gaara, but I didn't have the nerve to ask him any of them.  
'Do you still care about me? How have you been? Who's Matsuri? How's training?'  
"Mayu." Gaara began. "How have you been?"  
"I've been fine. How.. how about you?" I asked him. "I'm fine." Was his reply.  
"Good..." I trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say.  
'Well this sucks..' I thought to myself, lowering my eyes. 'I've been waiting 6 months to talk to him and now that I have the chance... nothing.'  
Sighing sadly to myself I turned to walk away, feeling defeated and absolutely stupid but something wrapped around my ankle and held me back.  
I looked down. 'Sand?'  
A shadow suddenly appeared overtop of me and I looked up to see a pair of seafoam eyes staring down at me.  
"Don't go." He said, reaching out and grabbing my arm. I studied his face closely, it was still blurry in my eyes but to me he was the most beautiful person in the world even when he was blurry.  
"It's been 6 months..." Gaara began. "Have your... feelings changed any?" He asked me. I swore I heard a hint of sadness in his voice.  
"Gaara..." I said softly, putting my hands on his shoulders. "You have to be more specific."  
I knew what he was talking about, I just wanted to hear it coming from his mouth.  
"Do you..." He paused. "Still love Uchiha?"  
I smiled. 'My least favourite question.'  
"I don't love Sasuke anymore, Gaara." I told him. It was the truth. "I love and miss who he used to be but, all of that is gone now. So no, I don't love Uchiha."  
Gaara didn't smile, or show any happiness at all. But he did nod his head which was a step up for him.  
"I'm glad." He told me. I couldn't help but laugh, he said it so emotionlessly it was almost an oxymoron.  
"So am I.." I said, smiling up at him.  
I could sense Lee's chakra moving through the forest, he had Kiba with him. He must be headed for the others now because his chakra was headed away from us.  
'Perfect!' My mind began to sceme. 'More alone time with Gaara...'

I decided this was the perfect opportunity to hug Gaara.  
So I did.  
Still with my hands on his shoulders I pulled him closer to me and then snaked my hands tightly around his waist.  
He tensed up a bit when I snuggled into his chest, admiring the scent of vanilla and pine-tree coming off of his jacket.  
Gaara was still as warm as ever. If anyone ever got lost in the Land of Snow, he'd be great to have!  
Slowly Gaara raised one arm, and patted me on the back with it, his other arm dangled loosely at his side.  
I frowned, this wasn't going to do. Grabbing his wrists I forced his hands around my waist and placed them where I wanted them to be.  
Now, Gaara was giving a proper hug.  
"You can relax, Gaara." I told him trying to supress my giggle. He was so tense it was almost like hugging a board.  
Slowly Gaara began to relax, and his grip around my waist tightened. When he completely relaxed into the hug, his head was resting on mine.  
I felt so happy.  
It made me want to make him stay in Konoha with me.  
"I've missed you." I admitted into his chest. Whether he heard me or not I had no idea, but I still wanted to say it to him.  
"I missed you too..." He told me.  
It was a strange thing to think that somebody like me managed to get the great emotionally handicapped Gaara of the Desert to give somebody a proper hug let alone admit that he missed them. But I did it, there should be a reward for that. Or atleast a prize..

A few minutes after Gaara and I ended our hug, Lee showed up with Gaara's siblings, Shikamaru, and Kiba behind.  
They saw us standing there looking awkward; well I looked awkward, apparently my face was bright red and I was having a staring contest with the tree beside me. Gaara looked like, well Gaara. He always looked the same.  
It took us a couple hours to locate Naruto.

"I couldn't get Sasuke..." Naruto admitted sadly once we found him.. He was very beat up, and was covered in a lot of blood, cuts, bruises, dirt, scrapes, you name it.  
The poor guy's chakra levels were pretty much non-existent, I was surprised he could even stand let alone walk all the way back to Konoha.  
"It's fine Naruto. You did your best." Shikamaru said, patting him on the back.  
Gaara and his siblings were escorting us back to Konoha to make sure nobody else tried to jump and kill us along the way.  
Naruto and Shikamaru were walking up ahead of everybody, Temari close behind. Kankuro and Kiba were following behind Temari, and they were apparently in the middle of a conversation about hot girls. It made me want to hit them with a blunt object, but I was fine where I was and too lazy to move.  
Gaara and I were trailing behind everybody, having a small conversation of our own. We kept our voices down so nobody could hear us.  
While we were walking side by side I couldn't help but watch as his hand swayed back and forth as he walked.  
'I want to hold his hand...' I told myself, wondering if there was some secret ninja-tactic of stealthy hand holding. Sadly there wasn't.  
'I wonder what he'd do if I...'  
A few scenario's played out in my mind.  
One of them was Gaara holding my hand back and then pulling me onto a white stallion riding off into the sunset with me. But that would never happen, because it was the middle of the night, stallions usually don't roam wildly around these parts, and Gaara doesn't have the emotional capacity to even think of something like that.  
The second scenario was Gaara ripping my arm off and then leaving me there to die. I hoped that wouldn't happen, ever...  
My third scenario was kind of disturbing and I'd rather not talk about it. It did have a happy ending for me though, but if I told you guys about it you'd probably get a spontaneous nose bleed.  
'What do I do? What do I dooo?' I struck up a mental arguement with myself. Gaara was telling me about this Matsumi, or Matsuri girl. Whatever her name is.  
Apparently he was her temporary sensei, a tutour more like. He told me she was scared of weapons, but now thanks to him she's not afraid anymore. It seems like they're very close.  
Just hearing him say her name made my heart sink.  
'I don't know her and I hate her already..' I told myself. 'I wonder what she has that I don't have?'  
Then it hit me. 'She lives in Suna... where he lives. While I live in Konoha.. so far away.'  
I looked over at his hand once more. He just let it hang loosely by his sides while he walked, as opposed to his usual cross-armed angry-guy pose he usually had going on all the time. It was very tempting, I'm not gonna lie. I really wanted to reach out and lace my fingers up with his.  
But what would Gaara do?  
I decided there was only one way to find out. Ignoring all the horrific scenario's that played over and over in my mind, I slowly reached my hand out towards Gaara's.  
I was shaking badly.  
I was so nervous.  
'Should I keep going? What if he pushes me away? Come on Mayu you can do it!' I tried encouraging myself.  
My mental pep-talk really wasn't helping.  
My hand was centimeters away from Gaara's, it was now or never!  
I reached out and grabbed his hand as fast as I could, lacing my fingers up with his. I felt him tense up rather quickly, and he began to stutter and trail off with the story he was telling me.  
'Did I just... ruin everything?' Feeling super guilty I was about to let go of his hand and drop to my knees, giving him a big apology speech.  
But I felt pressure on my hand.  
Gaara laced his fingers up with mine, and tightened his grip.  
We were holding hands!  
Does this mean we're an official couple now?

"Mayu." Gaara said, snapping me from my thoughts.  
I looked up at the Genin attached to my hand. "What is it?"  
Gaara stopped walking, and looked at me with a strange emotion in his eyes. One I've never seen him have before.  
"Do you think we're ready.. to be a couple now?" He asked me, a hint of hope in his voice.  
I stared at him with pure shock, did Gaara just ask me to be his girlfriend?  
Butterflies started fluttering in my stomach. This was definitely something I've been thinking about a lot.  
I've only had one boyfriend, Sasuke, and look how that turned out. It didn't end well.  
However... Gaara's someone I believe I can trust. He's changed, and not for the worse either. He's changed for the better.  
He's not like Sasuke.  
No, he's better than Sasuke.  
Months ago I told myself that if Gaara ever asked me this question, there was only one answer I could give. The answer would most definitely be.  
"Yes." I told him, smiling up at his blurry but beautiful face. I saw the corners of his mouth twitch, like he too was trying to smile.  
I thought it was the best thing any guy has ever tried to do for me.  
Realizing we were falling far behind everybody we ran to catch up with everybody, and once we stopped running Gaara held my hand again.  
This time he didn't seem tense, he seemed pretty confident.  
When we got to Konoha, it was a very sad departure. I didn't cry, I forced all of my tears back just to remain calm and 'cool' in front of everybody. I knew once I was home in my room I would let them fall.  
Before Gaara departed, he handed me a note he had apparently written for me weeks ago but never got the chance to send. Inside of it was a smaller note sprawled on the bark of a tree he had written only hours ago.  
He didn't kiss me like he did lastime, maybe he was feeling too nervous or the fact that there were too many eyes watching us this time.  
Whatever the reason was, I wasn't gonna let it slide. Before he managed to get away, I grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him in for the best kiss I could manage.  
After Gaara and I parted, and he began to walk away It took me almost an hour just to get away from my fellow Genin. They swarmed me with questions like. 'What was that?' 'Are you two dating?' 'Since when?'  
I could tell by the looks on Gaara's siblings faces when we pulled apart that as soon as the got home he would get questioned too.  
I didn't mind, he was my boyfriend now. Meaning that I don't have to worry about this, Mitsuki chick getting in my way.

When I got home, I threw myself on my bed and opened the letter from Gaara. I read the paper-written one instead;

**_Mayu,_**

**_ I am sorry I haven't written to you in a while. I've been very busy lately..  
The Wind and Fire nations have reconciled, so there will be no more betrayl or conflict between the two nations.  
I wrote this letter to tell you about my feelings.  
Ever since we met, I've had a bunch of strange emotions and feelings build up inside of me that I haven't experienced in a very long time.  
I can't describe them.. they're almost foreign to me.  
But all I know is that, when I was with you, I was never angry or sad.  
I never felt lonely.  
I felt.. happy.  
And now even when I think about you, I'm filled with so many emotions It's almost overwhelming.  
I'm not entirely sure what they are, but I will learn and when I do I want to share them with you.  
I hope that you do not love Uchiha anymore. I want to become somebody precious to you, Mayu.  
Until we meet again,  
Gaara._**

I couldn't help but smile after reading his letter. It was an awkard letter, and guys don't usually say "I hope you're over your ex boyfriend who recently broke up with you." But, Gaara didn't know. Atleast he admitted something, and this is a huge step up for him.  
This letter was written to me three weeks ago. Now he is somebody precious to me, so I guess his wish came true.  
I picked up the piece of bark that Gaara had written on to see what he wrote to me.

**Mayu,  
I am leaving for a year and a half to begin training. I want to be somebody precious to you, and to the people of Suna.  
We will not meet again for almost two years.  
But I promise that when we meet again, I will be a better man.  
I will be a better boyfriend.  
Don't forget me.**

**-Gaara**

My smile grew even wider when I read this letter, and I began to cry.  
It was heartbreaking to know that I rejected this man a little over 6 months ago because I wasn't over Sasuke.  
He was definitely a keeper.  
Tucking these letters away for safe keeping, I walked over to my mirror and stared at my reflection.  
"Nextime we meet.." I told my reflection. "I will be a much stronger ninja."  
And deep in my heart I knew that those weren't just empty words spoken to a piece of glass with my reflection inside of it.  
That was a promise.


	23. Chapter 23: One Year Later

"Captain, where is the target?" I heard my comrade ask.  
I held up my finger to tell him to be silent, as we could easily be heard by the enemy.  
Looking over towards my comrades through the slits in my mask, once I was sure I had their attention I used the secret hand signals that only we knew to communicate. I said; "Target is 5 miles to the North-East. I'm going in, watch my back."  
They nodded and then we took off through the mountains.

_It's been just a little over a year since I last spoke to Gaara._  
_I was almost 17 now, it's a little hard to believe._  
_Gaara and I have been keeping in touch ever since that day, sending letters back in forth as well as photos and gifts._  
_He always tells me that I'm the only girl he has feelings for, and that he can't wait to show my how much he's changed._  
_I always smile whenever I read his letters._  
_He told me about 7 months ago that Temari gave him a lecture on dating. In Gaara's words, she:_  
_"Taught me the rules of dating and told me how a guy is to act and how not to act. I understand now that I can not become physical with another woman like I do with you, I can not flirt with another woman and I can only treat other women like friends, or comrades. Nothing more. Don't worry Mayu I am yours."_  
_I thought it was cute._

'There you are...' I thought to myself, landing behind a jagged pile of rocks.  
Our target was: Minoru Kagayame- ex Konoha ANBU Black Ops and newest member of the Akatsuki.  
Lady Tsunade wants him eliminated before he can spill any secrets of Konoha to the enemy.  
That's where we come in.  
I could sense my comrades behind me, hiding in the mountains waiting for my signal to strike.  
I readied my kunai.

_About a month after Gaara and I last saw each other, Sakura was taken in my Lady Tsunade as her apprentice. Naruto went off with Jiraiya to train as well, leaving me behind._  
_Luckily Kakashi-sensei took me under his wing._  
_He trained me long and hard day in and day out. I bled, I sweat, I was in pain, and I was tired but I never gave up not even for a second._  
_This was one year and four months ago._  
_Three months after Kakashi-sensei and I began our rigorous training, I participated in the Chunin exams and passed._  
_One month after that I was made an official tracker ninja, recognized for my keen chakra sense and ability to mask my chakra an fool my enemy._  
_Six months ago, I was appointed the new captain of the Konoha ANBU Black Ops squadron, after the old captain retired._  
_And I've never been happier._  
_Of course I wear the traditional ANBU attire. Except some days, like today, I choose to wear a long-sleeved black turtle neck underneath of my armour, instead of the usual short-sleeved black turtle neck._  
_I liked to go unique and simple._

I masked my chakra so Minoru wouldn't know I was near and positioned clones of myself in various places around him, plotting an ambush.  
My first clone struck.  
She darted out from behind a rock and threw several kunai at Minoru, catching him off guard and putting him on alert.  
I liked a fair fight.  
Minoru threw a shuriken at my clone, but right before she disappeared with an obvious 'poof' I sent in a second one to catch his attention while my first clone died.  
That way- he wouldn't know I was using clones!  
"What- transportion jutsu?" He yelled, startled by my sudden appearance behind him. "I'll show you-"  
He tried to slash at my second clone with his sword but missed.  
I smirked, this was too easy.  
I signaled to my comrades to get in position, I wanted him apprehended as soon as possible.  
They readied their kunai, and as soon as I gave them the signal they pounced.  
I watched as our plan sprung into action.  
Minoru was obviously familiar with the ANBU's fighting style, he was once one himself. I decided it was best so spring a unique"Mayu Nakamura" approach on him instead.  
I had three guys with me, and all of them were down there fighting like they meant it. Throwing and dodging shuriken left, right and center, slashing at Minoru with swords and pelting him with jutsu after jutsu.  
He seemed to be slowing down a bit, but still managing to keep up a good fight.  
Sending in my third and final clone, I stepped off of the rock I was on and using earth style I let my body sink into the earth below me.  
This was my favourite and most-successful technique!  
"You guys are insane!" Minoru yelled, swinging his sword rapidly at anyone who stepped near him.  
The thing about Minoru was, he was very small. Like, Ebisu-sized. He has no muscle at all, and was terribly thin. But he acted like he was big and tough which made fighting him a pain.  
"Eat this!" He yelled, trying to uppercut my clone. Luckily she's my clone and heard the sword long before it made impact so she managed to dodge it without trouble.  
As she backflipped out of the way, she kicked the sword out of Minoru's hand sending it clattering to the ground just few feet away.  
Seeing an opening I decided this was my chance to strike and end this onc and for all.  
I reached up and grabbed Minoru's ankles, and with one swift movement I pulled him into the earth until only his head remained visible.  
"H-hey what's going on?!" He said struggling to free himself. It was no use, he should have known that by now.  
"Daisuke." I yelled to my comrade, taking off my mask. "Can you do this part, I really don't like doing it."  
Daisuke nodded, pulling out his sword. "Sure no problem Cappy!"

I walked over to a small river the flowed nearby. It was weak, and close to dehydrating.  
The screams of fear and protest from Minoru could be heard behind me. Part of me felt sorry for the guy, but the rest of me knew it was what had to be done.  
The sound of Daisuke's sword severing Minoru's head from his body was sickening.  
"This poor river.." I spoke to myself, trying to distract myself from whatever was going on behind me.  
"Rain Dance Jutsu!"  
Within seconds rain began to fall onto the dry plains below, the ground greedily sucking the moisture up. It was dry and just needed a little rain.  
The river instantly began to look more lively.  
"That's better..." I said, kneeling down and using some of the fresh water to wash my face. I was covered in dirt and sweat and my face felt utterly disgusting!  
"Hey Cappy, throw me that sack you got on you!" I heard Daisuke call from behind me. Without turning I removed the sack from my pocket and tossed it towards the sond of Daisuke's voice.  
He needed it for Minoru's head, and watching a man shove a severed head into a sac was the last thing I wanted to do today.  
After I was done washing my face, I walked over to the gruesome remains of his body.  
Fae, our newest ANBU member, had already dug it out of the earth for me.  
"Thanks Fae." I said, shooting her a smile. "Now... for the final part."  
I loosely laced my fingers together. "Release!"  
On cue the rain came to a halt. I then peformed the neccessary handsigns.  
"Spitfire jutsu!" I yelled, feeling the jutsu begin to take affect. The "Spitfire jutsu" temporatily turned your saliva into fire. It was mainly used for campfires and cremation, and as much as I would love a nice campfire right now, I was using it for the second option.  
I spat fireballs onto Minoru's headless body repeatively until he was nothing but ash laying at my feet, just to make sure that he was good and gone.  
After reactivating the "Raindance Jutsu" to give more life to this area I picked up my mask, returned it to my face and turned on my heel to leave.  
Daisuke walked up beside me, with a bloody sac in one hand and a flask of water in the other.  
"Here Cappy, I know the affects of the Spitfire jutsu make you thirsty." He said, handing me the flask. I took it and greedily downed it's contents, feeling a million times better afterwards.  
"Thanks so much!" I said, returning the flask to his belt. Daisuke laughed.  
"No problem Cappy!"

_I only had three people with me right now. Daisuke, Fae and a man named Touma.  
Daisuke was temporary crush of Sakura Haruno, back when I first started dating Sasuke.  
That only lasted a week though, until Sakura realized just how perverted Daisuke really is.  
Fae is so shy and so sweet, she's like the Chinese Hinata! I love her to death, but sometimes I wonder why she's in the ANBU. She hates killing.  
Touma is as mysterious as they get. He has white hair and always wears his mask even when he's not on a mission. He rarely speaks to people. Not much is known about him._

"Hey Cappy." Daisuke called, skipping up beside me. "I hear Lady Tsunade has another mission for just you when we return."  
I nodded. "Yeah I heard."  
"Wonder what it is... hope it's not more killing. I don't think you can cut the head off of somebody by yourself. You'll need me there with you." He said elbowing me in the side.  
I laughed, I was very ticklish.  
"I hope not!"  
It was a long and painful walk back to Konoha. We tracked Minoru so far away we were practically in Suna!  
As much as I wanted to go see Gaara, I knew I couldn't. We were already gone for three days, any longer and people would start to panic.  
"Hey Tsunadeeeeee!" Daisuke yelled, kicking open the door.  
I face palmed.  
"Daisuke.." Lady Tsunade growled. "You are such an idiot!" She yelled.  
Sakura was sitting beside her at her desk.  
"And If I do say so myself, Sakura Haruno you are fiiiiiiiine." He said, plopping Minoru's head onto Tsunade's desk while desperately putting the moves on Sakura.  
I leaned over to Fae. "Somehow I don't think shoving a severed head into someones face while attempting to "woo" them is going to help.." I whispered.  
She giggled. "Yeah.. I agree."  
This started an all-out war between Daisuke and Sakura. In the end Sakura won because whenever Daisuke defended himself Tsunade smacked him back saying "It's rude to hit a lady."  
This happened so often it was actually kind of sad.  
"Now... if you don't mind." Tsunade began, clearing her throat. "I'd like to talk to Mayu alone."

Everybody nodded and cleared out, as soon as it as just Tsunade and me left in the room I moved my mask to the side of my face and bowed to Tsunade.  
"You wish to speak to me alone?" I asked. Tsunade chuckled.  
"Now Mayu It's only us here, no need for such formalities." I laughed too. "Sorry Tsunade."  
Tsunade and I have grown closer over the year. With me being the head of the ANBU she sees me in her office almost everyday.  
"Now, there's something we need to talk about." She began, lacing her fingers together. "You are being transferred."  
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.  
'Transferred? Where?!' I thought to myself.  
"The Kazekage of Suna has requested that you transfer over." She explained as if reading my mind.  
By this point I was hopelessly lost and confused.  
"The... Kazekage?" I repeated.  
I remembered that Gaara's father died during the Chunin exams, and that he used to be the Kazekage. The last I heard, nobody ever stepped up and took his place. I wonder who took over..  
Tsunade nodded. "He requested that you, Mayu Nakamura, be transferred to Sunagakure. He didn't give any specific reasons however."  
She paused, and then took a deep breath.  
"He's sending over somebody over in your place don't worry. I'm not sure why he wants you to be transferred to Sunagakure but he seemed persistent and he assured me that you were what he wanted.  
I frowned. Something didn't seem right.. I had a weird feeling that Tsunade was hiding something and that this was a rehearsed speech.  
"May I ask.. My lady." I began. "But, who exactly is the new Kazekage?"  
Tsunade shot me a sly smile which I interpreted as something to be worried about.  
"Ah yes the new Kazekage." Tsunade said, taking a drink of something on her desk. "I do believe that you know him."  
I was alert now. "I.. know him?"  
"Yes. Word around here is that you know him quite well."  
She paused, and shot me a genunine smile.  
"I believe he told me that his name was Gaara."


	24. Chapter 24: I've Missed You

I wasn't sure if today was the best day or my life, or the worst.  
On the bright side, I was being transferred to Sunagakure to be with Gaara!  
The down side, I was leaving behind all of my friends.

"I shall miss you!" Lee said, tears streaming down his face.  
"I.. I'll miss you too." Hinata said, she looked like she too was about to cry.  
All my close friends came to see me off.  
"I'll miss you all too!" I said, trying not to cry.  
I walked over and gave each one a hug.  
"Good bye.. everyone." I said, waving goodbye.  
I turned on my heel to leave.  
"Yeah see you all! I'll miss you beautiful girls so much!" Daisuke yelled from beside me.  
I seriously wanted to punch him.  
What Tsunade failed to mention was that she strikeda deal with Gaara. Basically, she told him the only way he can have me is if he takes Daisuke with him.  
As annoying as he is, I guess he's good company.  
We had just stepped outside the gates to Konoha when we were met by two familiar face.  
"Temari! Kankuro!" I yelled in surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
"Gaara sent us as escorts. He doesn't want anything bad happening to his girlfriend." Temari told me. I felt my face heat up.  
"Wait! Mayu has a boyfriend?! Who is he I'll fight him for her!" Daisuke began to throw a tantrum.  
"My boyfriend is the Kazekage." I said bluntly. Daisuke instantly stopped his tantrum.  
"On second thought Mayu.. you're too uh, young for me." I facepalmed, what a coward.  
"Now you on the other hand.." He said, approaching Temari. "Are perfect for me."  
Temari's face lit up like a christmas tree when he put his arm around her.  
"Oh boy here we go..."

"So Kankuro." I began, trying to get rid of the awkward silence that's been between us for the past 4 hours. "How long has Gaara been the Kazekage?"  
"About 6 months." He said.  
"I see.. and he didn't tell me because..?"  
"He didn't know how you'd react. And I think he wanted to surprise you."  
"I see..."  
I glanced behind me. Daisuke was working his charm on Temari, and it was apparently working. He seemed happy enough, every single girl he's ever put the moves on has rejected him harshly. That or beat him to a pulp. Temari was overjoyed!  
"I wonder what Suna looks like..." I wondered out loud to myself.  
"Oh right, you've never seen Suna! How's your vision by the way, can you see any better?" He asked me. I smiled and nodded.  
My vision has improved greatly. I can now see perfectly! Atleast, I think I can. I don't know if I have 20\20 vision or not but to me, my vision is perfect.  
"I sure can! Which reminds me, why do you wear makeup?" I asked poking him in the ribs.  
This seemed to strike a nerve. "It's WAR PAINT!"  
I laughed. "Right.."  
"We're here." Kankuro said, completely averting my attention from the makeup on his face to the gate looming in the distance.  
I couldn't help but gawk at the village. It was surrounded by a very tall and thick wall made out of what looked like sandstone, it looked so much different from Konoha!  
From where I stood, the buildings looked real cool, I couldn't wait to get inside!  
I couldn't wait to see Gaara...  
"Gaara sure can't wait to see you." Kankuro said with a smile. It was creepy, as if he read my mind or something.  
I looked up at him. "Really?"  
He nodded. "Yes. You're all he ever seems to want to talk about. I'm glad.. he really needed somebody like you in his life."  
That made my heart light up.  
'And I needed somebody like him too...'

As soon as we passed through the gates, my heart began to beat rapidly.  
I was beginning to feel nervous.  
'What if I'm too ugly for Gaara now?'  
It's true my looks have changed dramatically this past year.  
I'm a bit taller now, but I bet Gaara's still taller than I am.  
I let my hair grow out. My bangs are still parted to the side but they reach just passed my chin. My hair flows down to my waist and is almost completely straight now!  
My breasts have grown, much to my displeasure. I don't know how big they are now but they're annoying as hell..  
I also have a very noticable hour-glass figure now. I was very plain, flat and skinny and now, I'm very curvy.  
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing though...  
Before we left I decided against wearing my ANBU uniform to Suna, I didn't think people would react too kindly to a Konoha ANBU strutting around their town.  
So I just wore a simple dress. It was a very pale blue colour, and reached just below my thighs. It had a pink sash that wrapped around just below my breast and tied in a bow in the back. The top part of the dress as well as the sleeves were a few shades darker than the skirt part.  
I wore my hair down with simple white sandals. I have to admit, I miss dressing like a civilian.  
"Gaara wants you to go see him yourself." Kankuro told me. "He's in that building right there. Just walk in and tell the secretary your name and she'll most definitely let you through."  
I nodded. "Thanks!"  
"Meanwhile I'm gonna take your perverted friend to his new residence..." He sneered. I don't think he likes Daisuke being all over Temari. I don't blame him, Daisuke is nothing but a big blob of uncontrollable hormones.  
I rolled my eyes and turned towards the big building in front of me.  
Butterflies were now quarreling in my stomach.  
'This is it...' I thought, starting up the steps. 'It's been just over a year...'

When I entered, the lady at the desk looked up at me through tiny spectacles.  
"Lord Kazekage is busy" She said in a very squeaky voice. "May I help you instead?"  
I swallowed nervously. "My name is Mayu. Gaara.. I mean- The Kazekage wants to see me?"  
Her eyes widened. "Oh goodie you're here!"  
She leaped up from her seat and rushed through the door behind her.  
'She seemed oddly enthusiastic to see me...' I thought to myself.  
I stood there twiddling my thumbs, listening to the murmurs from behind the door.  
Gaara's chakra was strong, he was definitely in that room. I heard him speak through the doors and I felt myself getting more and more excited.  
Apparently I get really giddy and nervous around guys I like..  
A few minutes later tha tiny lady came back out. "You can enter!" She said happily, holding the door open for me.  
I bowed and thanked her, stepping passed her into the room.  
When I entered, there were four female ninja's lined up against one wall. They were all glaring daggers into my skull.  
'His fan club...' I thought to myself. 'Note to self; Stay away from all female Sand ninja's not related to Gaara.'  
I averted my gaze towards the desk acrossed the room from me.  
Behind the desk, sat Gaara.

He was wearing a simple outfit that consisted of baggy black trousers, a baggy black shirt and some sort of white belt that held the pants up.  
But to me he was drop dead gorgeous.  
His hair was still messy, but in a good way. It was a bit longer than I remembered.  
Gaara's face has matured since I last saw him, and he was a lot taller.  
Those seafoam eyes gazed into mine, causing my heart to do backflips.  
"Hi.. Gaara." I said, giving him an awkward wave.  
And what I saw next made my breath catch in my throat.  
Gaara looked at me and smiled.  
An actual smile.  
It was small, but it was still there.  
Nervously I began to smooth out invisible wrinkles in my dress.  
He stood up and walked towards me, I could tell through his baggy shirt that he was a lot more toned than he used to be.  
This just made my face heat up more!  
"Mayu." He spoke, his voice was deeper than it was the lastime we spoke. "It's been a while. I've missed you." He said reaching out towards me.  
Gaara pulled me into a hug, an actual hug, that I didn't have to help him with!  
I could feel more daggers being glared into my skull. Actually let me rephrase that, I could feel numerous giant, sharp and pointy swords being angrily glared into the back of my head and I was pretty sure 3 out of 4 of those girls were actually plotting my death right about now.  
"I've missed you too.." I said with a smile, trying to ignore the anger radiating off of the girls, while hugging him back as tight as I could.  
No matter how tightly I hugged him, he hugged back tighter.  
When he let go, he kept one arm around me and turned to face the four female's against his wall.  
"Everybody, this is Mayu. She's the new head of the Sunagakure ANBU squad as well as my girlfriend. I trust that you will treat her with respect..." He said the last part as sort of a warning.  
They all nodded nervously and then excused themselves.  
Before they all left, one girl with short brown hair lagged behind a few seconds and shot me a look of pure hatred.  
As soon as the door shut, I turned towards Gaara.  
"Matsuri?" I guessed. He nodded. "Figures..."

I looked up at Gaara again, meaning to ask him how his day was, only to find him staring down at me once more. His eyes were filled with so much emotion, ones I've never seen in him before as well as ones that keep resurfacing whenever we talk.  
"Mayu.." He began. "A lot has happened but.. I finally got you to Suna." He said, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards a little bit. "I can show you that I'm better than Uchiha."  
"Gaara you're already better than he is." I reassured him. "You don't have to show me anything."  
He leaned in closer. "But I want to..."  
I was about to say something else but I was interrupted my Gaara's lips crashing down onto mine.  
This was my first kiss in over a year, and it was probably the best kiss I've ever gotten so far. Gaara's confidence grew a lot since we first met, I could tell.  
I smiled into the kiss, Gaara needed to learn more about being in a relathionship, and not from the things his sister told him about. He needed to learn from experience!  
Using my own lips I pried open Gaara's mouth and forced my tongue through, catching him off guard. He seemed a little taken back by this motion but gradually accepted it and began to go along with it himself.  
This was our first kiss in a really long time, it deserved to be extra special.  
Our tongues began to battle for dominance, and even though I put up a good fight, Gaara managed to defeat me in the end.  
I let him have his way, he seemed to enjoy exploring the inside of my mouth. From what I could tell this was his first time making-out with anybody, and even though it wasn't my first time, it certainly was the most enjoyable time.I could tell that even Gaara was also enjoying himself.  
After a few minutes, we mutually decided we needed a break and reluctantly parted.  
When we parted, we were all twisted up in one another. Somewheres in the middle of making out, I ended up with my hands wrapped around his neck and my fingers twirled in his hair. One of Gaara's arms was wrapped tightly around my back, the other was wrapped around my waist.  
"I really like you, Gaara." I said, resting my head on his shoulder. I could hear his heartbeat, it was beating very fast.  
He pulled me into a tighter embrace, laying his head on top of mine.  
"I really.. like you too, Mayu..."

A lot has happened since the Chunin Exams.  
Who would have thought I'd go from being a blind cripple to being the head of the ANBU team?  
Nobody did.  
As Gaara and I sit side by side, on the couch in his office, exchanging stories and catching up, my mind couldn't help but wander off on it's own.  
I began to think about Sasuke, and how different my life was back then when we were still together. I couldn't help but wonder.. If Sasuke and I never broke up, would I be as happy as I am now? Or would I still be miserable and blind?  
My mind drifted back to the story my boyfriend was telling me about how he became the Kazekage. It seemed that he was proud of this story, and he was eager to share it with me.  
Reaching out I took one of Gaara's hands and held it on both of mine, rubbing my fingers over his knuckles. They were very rough, a result from hours of training.  
Smiling over at Gaara I knew the answer to my question was simple.  
I could never be this happy with Sasuke.  
Ever.


	25. Chapter 25: First Day in Suna

"Awww so I really have to wear this?" I whined to the Kazekage, holding up the article of clothing I was currently trying to get out of wearing.  
Gaara sighed. "Mayu, that vest Is the traditional uniform of the Sunagakura ANBU Black Ops." He explained.  
I stuck out my bottom lip, hoping I could persuade my boyfriend to make an exception for me.  
"But Gaara-kun! This vest is so gross! The colour is gross, it looks gross, and it feels gross its seriously just like wearing a turtle shell!" I mustered up the saddest look I could manage. "Please..."  
Gaara let out a deep sigh of defeat meaning I had won.  
I screamed for joy tossing the ugly-turtle shell vest behind me only to hear a very loud crash.  
"Please let that be a non-expensive vase..." I silently prayed. "Please be a non-expensive easily replaceable vase..."  
The gust of wind and bits of sand that blew passed me and settled on the floor signified that I had just infact broken a window.  
"Oops..." I said sheepishly.  
Gaara reached over and without emotion pressed a button on some weird black box.  
"Kokoro... find somebody who can replace a window and book the soonest possible appointment with them." He spoke calmly into the little black box, which I figured was some sort of intercom. A squeaky "Hai Kazekage-same!" Was heard in reply and then Gaara let go and folded his hands in front of him.  
He was in his Kazekage robes, and he looked absolutely sexy in them.  
"I have a mission for you." He said calmly.  
I gasped. "Already?!" I was surprised, I didn't think Gaara would send me off so soon It's only been a day since we were reunited.  
Gaara nodded. "It's simple really. You mission is to keep your friend off of my sister."  
I blinked. "Eh.. You want me to keep Daisuke away from Temari..? Why?"  
"Because he's bothering her." Gaara told me.  
I shook my head. "Afraid I can't do that. Daisuke's always been a skirt chaser, and besides I think he might actually fancy your sister. I'm pretty sure she likes him too, or atleast she acts like she does. I'm hoping they'll fall in love and then begin a long serious relationship forever ending his perverted reign of terror."  
Gaara blinked. "He thinks Temari is fancy and chases.. skirts?"  
'Oh boy..' I thought, trying to think of an easy way to explain this to Gaara. I forgot he wasn't used to terms like that.  
"Well... not literally. Saying somebody "fancies" someone else is another way of saying they have a crush on them. A skirt chaser is somebody who really likes women." I explained the best I could. I was going to say a skirt chaser is a pervert or a womanizer but Gaara would either kill Daisuke or ask me what a womanizer was so I decided my definition was the best way to describe it to him.  
His invisible eyebrows were scrunched up like he didn't quite understand what I told him. Then his face softened to his usual emotionless expression and he nodded.  
"Very well... I'll trust you, for now." He said. I sighed, 'I just saved Daisuke from certain doom. He owes me.'  
"Now." Gaara began, catching my attention. "About your residence."  
"What about it?" I asked. Gaara had made arrangements with the Suna no Shiro- Castle of Sand, which is a hotel, for Daisuke and I to stay there. I unfortunatly had to share a room with Daisuke and resorted to wearing a shirt that says "The Kazekage is my boyfriend." just to keep him away from me.  
"You'll be moving in with my siblings and I." He said calmly, taking out a piece of paper.  
"With you guys? Really... so soon?" I asked, completely surprised. "I'm fine at the hotel Gaara, you don't have go out of your way to bring me into your home I don't wanna be a burden."  
Gaara shook his head. "Nonsense. You won't burden us. I've been planning this for months, since I became Kazekage. You were only moved into the hotel so we could finish renovating your room, but it finished early so you can move in with us this afternoon." He told me. "I actually called you in here to distract you long enough for Temari and Kankuro to move your things."  
I made a wide "o" with my mouth.  
"Are you sure you wanna live with me?" I nervously asked Gaara.  
We've only been together officially for a year now. I dated Sasuke for almost 10 years and we never even talked about moving in.  
Gaara nodded. "Of course. Couples move in with one another do they not?"  
I nodded. 'Did he not read the fine print that said 'long-term serious couples live together?' I thought to myself.  
He closed his eyes and stood up. "Well then I don't see what the problem is."  
I sighed. "You wouldn't." I said quietly so only I could hear.  
Honestly, I was thrilled to be living with Gaara. It would give me a chance to get to know him and his siblings better. But it would also but a huge target on my back from the Gaara-fan club. It's a good thing I'm the head of the ANBU, they'll be a lot less tempted to slaughter me in my sleep.  
Atleast I hoped so.

"Here's your room!" Temari exclaimed rather happily, opening the door for me.  
My jaw dropped to the ground. My room was HUGE!  
My walls were painted a pale pink colour. A large queen-sized bed sat in the far-left corner and had a bedspread of deep crimson and white overtop, the bed was littered with pillows of various sized and shapes. My kitty-cat stuffed animals were all neatly arranged in one corner of my bed.  
On the far wall, in the very center of my room was a large window, and underneath the window sat a small stand and a very pretty chair that shone a silver colour in the light. To the right of the window was a large bookshelf filled from top to bottom with books.  
A maroon coloured couch sat on the far right wall, right beside a black dresser and a closet.  
It was a bit plain but It was perfect for me!  
"This is absolutely beautiful!" I yelled, running acrossed the room and throwing myself on my bed. I sank into the sheets, it was like laying on a cloud.  
I could hear Temari laughing from the hallway. "Gaara figured you'd like it, he based it off your bedroom back in Konoha."  
It was true, my bedroom had almost the exact same colour scheme and layout, but it was a lot smaller and my small collection of thing wasn't nearly as nice as these ones were.  
I sat up from my spot on the bed, to see Gaara had joined Temari in the doorway. He wore a black t-shirt and a black pair of slacks.  
He was so hot.  
Temari shot me a smirk and then walked away leaving Gaara and I alone in my room.  
"Do you like it?" He asked me, walking into the middle of my room.  
I nodded with a big smile on my face. "Of course It's beautiful!"  
It was true, it was absolutely gorgeous.  
Gaara's mouth formed a small smile which made my heart flutter. I patted the seat beside me on the bed, and Gaara walked over and sat down beside me.  
I growned. His posture was so perfect, and he was always so polite and formal with me and everybody else. I know being the Kazekage requires one to be professional, but I wanted him to relax around me.  
"Hey Gaara?"  
"Yes?"  
"Do you wanna go for a walk?"

Gaara left me alone in my room while I got changed. Suna didn't have any showers, only bathhouses, but Gaara told me I could use his private bath later.  
I changed into a pair of short black shorts and a white tanktop with a light-blue one overtop. I liked layers.  
Standing in front of the full-lengthed mirror beside my dresser I couldn't help but frown.  
"I'm not pretty enough to be the Kazekage's girlfriend..." I said to myself outloud. I grabbed my long hair and held it up.  
Because I was so busy with ninja-training, I didn't have time to pay attention to my hair. It had grown out quite long.  
"Should I cut my hair?" I wondered out loud, pulling my hair back to see what I'd look like with short hair. I was still ugly.  
I sighed. "Why wasn't I born pretty?"  
Gaara was perfect in my eyes. He had a perfect face, perfect clothes, a perfect body, perfect voice, perfect everything.  
He's too good for me, I wasn't even sure why he liked me so much?  
I had honestly expected him to move on and forget about me after all this time away. He was constantly hounded by super pretty girls, and everybody adored him. Why did he stay with me? Did he feel obligated?  
My mirror darkened as somebody cast a shadow over it. I jumped, startled and spun around to come face to chin with Gaara.  
"Gaara!" I yelled in surprise, my heart racing. "You startled me."  
He was looking down at me, staring into my eyes with a look of sadness on his face.  
"What's wrong?" I was getting worried, Gaara barely showed sadness.  
"Don't say such things about yourself." He said to me, catching me off guard. "It makes my heart feel like it's being weighed down."  
Was Gaara listening to my talk to myself?  
"I apologize, I didn't mean to eavesdrop." He said, answering my question. "If anything you are too pretty to be my girlfriend."  
I almos choked on my own breathing.  
"You are very beautiful." Gaara said  
"Gaara..." I said softly, studying his face. He had a calm facial expression, but his eyes were heavy with sadness. His mouth was turned down at the corners as if he was frowning.  
I didn't know what to say, his words had stunned me. Everytime I thought of something to say the words got caught in my throat.  
Gaara leaned down and kissed me on the forehead  
"I fancy you.." He said, with laughter in his voice as he grabbed my hand, laced our fingers together and then gently pulled me out the door and into the busy streets of Sunagakure.

"Suna has a river?!" I practically screamed.  
It was true, Sunagakure indeed had a river. A small one, but it was still there.  
Gaara walked up beside me and nodded. "The Land of Waves is a very long ways away from Sunagakure. This river flows from there. The amount of water and the pressure that comes from the Land of Waves is so strong that the water can still flow strongly all the way through Suna."  
I was astonished. In Konoha, my favourite places to be were the woods, and by a river or lake. I felt extremely depressed leaving Konoha, surrounded by lush forests and rushing rivers, to come live in a dry, desolate place such as Suna. But it really wasn't as dead as everybody seemed to think it was. It had forests, and apparently rivers too!  
My homesickness was beginning to fade.  
Just a little bit.  
"This is absolutely wonderful!" I yelled, stepping into the water.  
Gaara and I had walked a little ways outside of the town, but still inside the walls. A small forest grew near a river, just a few kilometers from the playground.  
"It's nice here." He said calmly, walking up behind me. I frowned.  
"Stop being so formal!" I demanded, poking him in the stomach with my finger. He made a weird noise that sounded like a cross between a squeak and a grunt and doubled over grabbing his stomach.  
"I apologize.." He said, straightening himself up.  
"No, It's "I'm sorry."" I said, poking him in the chest this time. He didn't double over, or squeak but he did grunt. His chest was very hard, and I knew what I was poking wasn't bone.  
It was definitely muscle.  
"I'm... sorry." He repeated, looking uncertain. I nodded.  
"Good! When you're being Kazekage in your office or meeting with people with a high social status like other Kages or elders, you can be formal. With me, I don't want that. We're in a relationship now, Gaara, I want you to relax and be comfortable with me. Be yourself."  
"I'm not sure I can do that." He said, his voice full of uncertainty. Shaking my head I stepped out of the nice cold river and into the arms of my boyfriend.  
I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder.  
"You can still try, for me?" I asked. "When you're with me just speak and act the way you want to. Don't second guess yourself, and don't put on an act. I want you to be natural, okay?"  
Looking up into those beautiful eyes of his I smiled.  
And he smiled back.  
"I'll try.." He said, leaning in for a kiss.  
Standing on my tip-toes I happily met him halfway.  
As much as I would have loved to grab my boyfriend and pull him into a nice romantic kiss, it wasn't meant to be.

"Captain!"  
Gaara and I parted and turned just in time to see an ANBU member land beside us. I recognized her as a woman named Komachi.  
Komachi was 18 and about my height. She had long dark-blue hair tied up in a ribbon, her bangs were pulled to the side with a large circle-clip.  
Like me, she didn't wear the traditional ANBU uniform. She wore a long-black shirt made entirely out of fishnet underneath of her sleeveless black turtle neck. Overtop she wore a loose, dark yellow kimono tied with a small sash behind her back. She wore baggy black shorts, and traditional Sunagakure ninja sandals. I learned lastnight that she's been an ANBU member since she was 8, but has no interest in ever becoming anything higher than that.  
Her specialty was weapons, especially large ones.  
Komachi got down on one knee and bowed to Gaara. "Forgive me for the intrusion, Kazekage-same. But I need to speak to the Captian."  
Gaara nodded and released me. Komachi stood up.  
"Captain, a scout has informed me that the Akatsuki have been spotted in the nearby forest." She explained. "We didn't want to bother you while you were out with Kazekage-sama, but we hear that you're very familiar with the Akatsuki, and that you've taken them on head-to-head several times. Our ANBU haven't encountered them yet, as they usually don't bother us."  
I nodded. "Does he know what they look like? Any detail can help, I need to know who I'm up against."  
She nodded. "He says that there's three; One has blonde hair tied in a ponytail, one looks like a giant fish and the third has long black hair and piercing red eyes."  
I clenched my jaw. "That's all I need to know."  
Gaara clenched his fists, and when I looked up at him he looked extremely pissed, like he was ready to go out and start punching people.  
"Alright Komachi, I want you to assemble me a team. Not a big one, we don't need much to take them out. I need Daisuke- I can't do a mission without him. I also need somebody who's skilled with physical combat, which would be you if you're up for it, as the "Giant Fish Guy" has a pretty big sword, if you could even call it that. The one with the blonde pony-tail is going to be very annoying to fight, so I need somebody who is an expert at long-ranged combat and who can easily take out flying targets. Leave the black-haired one to me... Meet me at the gate in 10 minutes."  
Komachi nodded, and then vanished with a 'poof' leaving Gaara and I alone again.  
I turned towards him."Gaara, I'm sorry but-"  
"I understand." He cut me off. Not only did he looked pissed, he sounded pissed. "Just go."  
I slowly nodded, I didn't like it when he was mad. "I'm sorry."  
Before dashing off I made sure to give him a kiss, hoping that he wasn't mad at me.  
Why was he so mad?  
Maybe it was because the Akatsuki were so close to his village, he feared for the safety of his people.  
I hoped that was it, I don't want him to be mad at me.

I rushed home at the speed of light and rushed through the Kazekage mansion, surprisingly not getting horribly lost in the process. It took me less than 10 minutes to assemble my weapons and put on my outfit.  
I wore my old ANBU outfit from Konoha, sticking to the traditional sleeveless-black turtle neck instead of the long-sleeved one that I liked. I was now in the middle of the desert and heat-stroke was the last thing I wanted. The Sunagakure ANBU outfit was just plain ugly, and Gaara had given me permission to wear my old one. The others didn't seem to mind, they said it was cool and made me stick out as "Captain" more.  
Tying my hair up in a high long ponytail I didn't bother grabbing my mask, I was in a hurry and there was no sense in hiding. They knew who I was.

When I arrived at the front gates, I was shocked at the team Komachi had assembled.  
Daisuke as there, just like I requested. He too wore his old Konoha ANBU armour, but not because he hated the Sunagakure ANBU outfit, he just thought he looked "sexier" in the Konoha outfit.  
Komachi was there in her uniform, her weapon strapped to her back and ready to go. Komachi's weapon was a giant, and when I say giant I mean giant, Shuriken that she threw at the enemy and called back like a boomerang using her chakra. It was great for taking out large groups as well as cutting down trees.  
My long ranged expert stepped forward, and I was very shocked when I saw who it was.  
He was a little bit taller than I was, and wore a long-sleeved maroon coloured trenchcoat with a one-strapped vest overtop. A large gourd was strapped to his back, and he had short and messy red hair with dark circles surrounding his eyes. The kanji for "Ai" was tattooed to his forehead.  
"Gaara... what are you doing here?" I asked when I was in earshot. Gaara unfolded his arms.  
"I have a feeling that the one with the bonde pony-tail is Deidara. Him and I have unfinished business... "He said, smirking down at me. "Was that casual enough?"  
I smiled. "It's a start. Good enough for now I suppose.." My face grew serious. "Let's go."  
Everybody nodded, and as soon as the gates were open we took off into the forest, me leading the way.  
I could sense them, even though they were still miles away.  
This was my first mission for the Sunagakure ANBU, and Gaara came along to help, even if it was just to settle a score with Deidara.  
I wasn't sure what unfinished business Gaara was talking about, but I decided I would pry that information out of him later.  
For now, my focus was on my target, a man who I was determined to prove something to.  
To prove to him that I wasn't weak.  
'Itachi Uchiha you are mine!'


	26. Chapter 26: Ki

When we finally found them, Itachi wasn't there.  
The long black-haired person Komachi described was somebody completely different. Somebody new..  
Her hair was long, black and greasy, and she had it tied back in the worlds ugliest bun.  
Because her eyes were so bright and red, you would have figured she'd be very beautiful, but her teeth were so crooked and yellow and her face was so sunken and wrinkled, she looked like she was 80.  
What swampy marsh they pulled her out of was beyond me.  
She said her name was Ki.

We ran through the forest for abut 15 minutes before we finally found them.  
When we did, they were chillin around the body of a dead bear. However, as soon as we landed on a branch close to them they attacked, it was almost like they expected us.  
Komachi and Kisame instantly engaged in a sword to giant-shuriken combat. The lastime I saw them, Kisame was wearing down while Komachi wasn't even breaking a sweat.  
Deidara went straight for me, but Gaara intervened and literally forced Deidara to fight him. Deidara flew off on a paper bird while Gaara flew on his sand like it was a flying surfboard.  
That left Ki, Daisuke and I.

"Well well look what the cat's drug in." She sneered, rolling up the sleeves of her cloak.  
I frowned. "I could say the same for you, Old Sewer Rat!"  
She didn't like that comment, her face twisted into a very angry and disturbing scowl that could peel the paint off of buildings.  
She then jumped up and extended her arms towards me, palms open, and instantly flames flew out of her hands towards us.  
"What the f-" Daisuke's vulgar curse was cut off by his desperate leap to get out of the way.  
"She created flames out of thin air? But how?!" I yelled, dodging another wave of fire.  
Ki began to laugh.  
"My special ability is fire manipulation!" She boasted, throwing more flames in our direction. "You will never get away!  
I landed on a rock nearby only to be forced to the air once more by her flames.  
'How does she create fire out of thin air?' I thought, leaping to the air to dodge yet more flames.  
Daisuke and I landed on tree branches not far away from each other.  
I studied Ki from a distance, wondering how she managed to create fire like she did.  
I saw no tanks, no genjutsu or ninjutsu. I didn't think any kekkei genkai had that ability.  
What was her secret?  
My eyes drifted towards Daisuke, our eyes met through the slits in his mask. I gestured towards him with hand signs only known to Konoha ANBU members.  
"I'm going in. Watch my back."  
He nodded, reaching into his back pocket and pulled out two shuriken.  
"Hey ugly!" He yelled, catching the attention of Ki. "Eat this!" He threw his shuriken at her, followed by two more shuriken.  
I took this oportunity to leap into the brush to remain undetected.  
"You will pay for your insults!" She yelled, knocking Daisuke's shuriken out of the air with her flames.  
He landed on the ground a few feet away from her.  
"Yeah well... you're face is gross!" He yelled, trying to keep her attention on him.  
It was definitely working.  
She twisted her face into that angry scowl once again and raised her arms to summon more flames.  
This was then I saw my opportunity to strike!  
I leapt from the brush silently, drawing my sword and with one quick movement my blade sliced through the flesh of her arm, sending it falling to the ground in a bloody heap.  
That's when I noticed something.  
She wasn't bleeding.  
Instead of blood shooting from her severed limb, there was fire!  
And right in the palm of her hand, was a large slit.

"You wench! Look what you've done, my arms!" Ki yelled, grasping at her missing limb that was uncontrollably spewing out fire.  
"I get it!" I realized what was going on. "Your body is filled with fire- not blood."  
Ki looked at me with a twisted, ugly smirk. "What gave it away?" She asked.  
"The fact that instead of bleeding to death you're shooting out fire.." I said bluntly, I spoke to her like she was a baby.  
Her eye twitched. "Do not talk to me like I am stupid!" She yelled. "My clan was born with flames coarsing through their veins rather than blood. The reason for that being is unknown, even to me, but what I do know is that it has blessed me with a great power!"  
She yelled, lifting up her good arm. Her other hand had slits in it as well, small flames licked at the wound.  
'How do we beat somebody who won't bleed to death?' I thought, rushing towards Daisuke.  
"You will pay for severing my arm!" Ki yelled, jumping up and chasing after me.  
It was really gross watching her run, her greasy bun was flopping around, her face also flopped around when she ran. The fact that her elbow was shooting out fire made this whole scene seem absolutely ridiculous to me.  
"I sure hope this is just a bad dream." I said to Daisuke as we turned and ran. Ki was mad, probably at both Daisuke's insults and me for cutting her arm off.  
"Ditto!" Daisuke yelled, trying to sound cheerful. I could tell he felt the same way I did- angry, tired and confused.  
"You can not escape!" Ki yelled from several feet behind us, shooting more flames our way.  
Daisuke successfully leaped out of the way, but my foot got caught on a root.  
I was seconds too slow.  
Her flames twisted around my right ankle, causing immense pain as it began to burn through my flesh.  
It just so happened to be the ankle on my bad leg as well.  
I fell to the ground with a scream, catching the glimpse of something moving at a fast pace through the woods to my right.  
The shadow of an approaching Ki cast overtop of me.  
Turning the last thing I saw was a fiery arm swooping down towards my face.  
Squeezing my eyes shut I waited for impact.  
But it never came.

I opened my eyes to see Daisuke.  
He had pushed Ki back several feet with the force of his impact, she had her fist thrust into his chest, he was cluthing her arm tightly as if trying to stop it.  
"Daisuke!" I screamed, panic surging through me once I saw how much blood he was covered in.  
He slowly turned his head towards me with a smile, blood began to trickle out of the corner of his mouth.  
"I got your back.. Cappy!" Was the last thing he managed to spit out before Ki pushed him to the ground with her fist, leaving a huge burn hole in his chest.  
"Noo Daisuke!" I screamed, scrambling to get up. My ankle was raw and covered in blood, but I had to keep going.  
Not just for me, but for Daisuke too.  
"What do you want from us?!" I yelled. She just came out of nowheres, how did they know we were coming? Why us?  
Ki turned towards me with an ugly smirk.  
"Did you really think the scout just stumbled upon us?" She said. My eyes widened.  
"You don't mean..."  
She laughed an ugly laugh. "There's a spy for the Akatsuki, hiding in Sunagakure! But who it is you'll never find out, nor will you love long enough to try!  
Ki stopped laughing and her face grew dead serious.  
"I'm going to love torturing you..." She sneered licking her lips. "I was assigned this mission specifically for eliminating you. Consider this payback for taking out so many of our members these past few months."  
Her arm had managed to burn it's own wound shut, so she was no longer spewing out fire. But her hand, was still completely attached and able to kill.  
'Is this how I'm going to die?' I thought to myself.  
I've never been this close to dying before. I've been on some dangerous ninja missions yes, but I've never encountered anybody who had the power to take down Daisuke. Ki could seriously kill me right now.  
Her fire made her untouchable, her lack of blood made her unkilable.  
I was about to pull out a kunai and go down with a show, but my super-sensitive hearing kicked in.  
'That sounds like... water!'  
It was true, I could hear a river flowing nearby. Turning my head to the right I saw the same faast moving figure in the woods that I had just minutes before when I was knocked to the ground by Ki.  
That's when I remembered what Gaara told me earlier today.

_"The Land of Waves is a very long ways away from Sunagakure. This river flows from there. The amount of water and the pressure that comes from the Land of Waves is so strong that the water can still flow strongly all the way through Suna."_

'A river!' I thought happily. Ki began to advance towards me, her arm stretched out ready to strike at any minute.  
'My specialty is earth and water jutsu...' I closed my eyes, 'Let's hope I'm close enough...' I began to do handsigns beind my back. 'Let's hope this works...'  
"Giving up so soon? I would have expected the head of the ANBU to put up more of a fight." Ki laughed, I could feel her getting closer to me.  
'Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!'  
The ground began to rumble, catching Ki off guard and sending her stumbling in the opposite direction.  
"Wh-wh-what is going on?" She stuttered, frantically looking around.  
"What's the best way to extinguish a fire?" I asked, a smirk forming on my lips.  
Ki looked towards me, her eyes wide with fear. "...water.." She answered, coming to a realization.  
"Bingo."  
My water dragon shot out of the forest and snaked its way around Ki's struggling, screaming body.  
Her screams were soon muffled with water as my dragon slithered it's way into her mouth.  
I watched as the water from my dragon found it's way inside of her body through the hole in her arm made by my sword, as well as working it's way into the slit she had made in her hand.  
It flowed into her mouth, nose, and any other opening it could find, while steam was emerging from her body at a rapid pace.  
The fire that flowed through her veins was being extinguished.  
That explains why she never washed...  
After several seconds of strangulation and extinguishing, my dragon eventually dispersed, soaking the ground below and dropping Ki's lifeless body to the ground with a splat.  
I approached the body. She was surely dead.  
Her eyes were open wide, and no longer red, but black instead. Like a coal that has cooled down. Ki's mouth also hung open, with steam and smoke drifting out.  
It was a short battle, but still a dangerous one.  
I was glad it was over.

Rushing over to Daisuke's body, he was still breathing, but the gaping hole in his chest was still bleeding as well as burning.  
He needed to be treated.  
Luckily, Komachi arrived just in time, her body was soaked with water and she was panting heavily.  
Her shuriken was coated in blood.  
"Do you now medical ninjutsu?" I asked Komachi, hoping for a yes. Thankfully she nodded.  
"Oh thank the gods!" I breathed a sigh of relief, getting up from my spot to allow Komachi to work her magic.  
"I'll go find Gaara." I suggested, starting off in the direction of his chakra. I didn't get very far before a large sand vortex formed in front of me, leaving behind a very tired Gaara.  
"Gaara, are you okay?" I asked worried when I saw the blood on his arm.  
"Don't worry it's not my blood." He assured me, pulling me into a hug. When he wrapped his arms around my waist, he sort of leaned his body on me, resting his head on the top of mine and putting all his weight on me.  
He was heavy, and I wasn't strong enough to lift him, but right now he was depending on me to hold him up.  
I couldn't let him down, he was exhausted.  
Gaara must have felt me struggle beneath him because he stood up and straightened up, trying to look alive, but he still looked very tired.  
"What happened here?" He asked breathlessly, examining the surroundings. The grass was all burned, and there was a random smoldering body nearby, as well as an injured Daisuke.  
"The black haired Akatsuki that the scout talked about wasn't Itachi, but some greasy old hag named Ki. She says her clan has fire flowing through their veins instead of blood... she almost killed me, but thankfully there was a river nearby and I managed to use my water jutsu and take her down." I explained, still breathing heavily.  
Gaara nodded, and then pulled my back into a hug, this time he was making me lean on him.  
"I'm glad you're safe." He told me. "I heard you screaming and I became scared. Deidara wouldn't let me get to you though."  
I smiled. "I'm glad you're safe too." I told him, feeling extremely exhausted all of a sudden.  
Gaara chuckled, sending vibrations through my head.  
"Let's get home. We all need a rest." He suggested, pulling away from me.  
Komachi walked up with Daisuke flung over her back. "I'll go ahead." she said smiling at me. "I can handle him. I sealed his wounds and stopped the bleeding but he still needs rest."  
I nodded and watched as Komachi walked over and picked up her giant shuriken and held onto it with one hand, and made sure Daisuke didn't slip from her back with the other. She jumped up and began to run through the forest without a problem at all.  
My jaw dropped.  
"She's... an odd one. She's so tiny but yet so strong!" I commented. "I suppose if she can lug that big shuriken around, a grown man isn't much trouble..."

I felt hands beneath my legs as I was suddenly lifted to the air.  
"Gaara!" I yelled startled. "I can walk really.." He was just as tired as I was if not more, I didn't want him to feel obligated to carry me all the way back to Suna just because my ankle is a little burned.  
He didn't say anything to me but continued to carry me bridal style through the forest towards Suna.  
"Gaara..." I said softly, trying to catch his attention.  
"Just let me carry you." He said, his tone was serious with a hint of concern.  
Leaning against his shoulder I decided against arguing with him. Closing my eyes I let my body relax, suddenly feeling very tired.  
Gaara began to hum a tune, which I instantly remembered as the song he caught me singing a few times all those years ago.  
I was surprised he still remembered the tune after all these years.  
Suddenly I remembered what Ki had said, about the spy in Suna.  
As much as I wanted to warn Gaara, I was much too tired to open my mouth let alone speak.  
I decided I would tell him tomorrow.

The tune is Eiko Shimamiya - FLOW  
Mayu's Song :)


	27. Chapter 27: Matsuri Strikes

"He did WHAT?!"  
Gaara stared at me with no emotion on his face what-so-ever.  
You'd think that after what he just told me he'd atleast look mad, but no.  
No emotion.  
Just a blank stare.  
"Deidara kidnapped you and they extracted Shukaku from your body and then you DIED?! WHAT THE HELL?!" I was pretty much screaming by now., my arms flailing all over the place.  
"It's not that big of a deal." Gaara said simply, taking a sip from his tea. "Elder Chiyo sacrificed herself to bring me back. That is why we have a monument honouring her in the village. I literally owe my life to her."  
If I wasn't so tired right now I probably would have cried, or hit something, or threw a bigger tantrum.  
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, staring him right in the eye. Gaara averted his gaze towards the food on his plate.  
"I... didn't want to make you sad." He said softly, staring at the wall to his right. I bit my lip, this was hard to take in. It was even harder to see Gaara lookin so sad.  
"Well..." I said, taking a sip of my tea. "I suppose... I'm glad you no longer have Shukaku inside of you." I paused. "Does this mean you can sleep now?"  
He nodded. "I can but I don't sleep much. I'm too busy for sleep."  
My eye twitched. "Are you serious? Sleep is like, super important! I bet if you slept regularly you would feel a lot better and you would be a lot stronger than you are now."  
Gaara, who was in the process of shoving a rice ball down his throat, blinkded at me wide eyed.  
"Really?" He asked, forcing the food down his throat. I nodded.  
"Of course! Sleep is what makes the body stronger." I wasn't entirely sure if this was true or not, but I wanted Gaara to sleep on a regular basis so... I figured why not give it a try.  
Gaara looked up at the ceiling, he seemed deep in thought. Either that or he was watching the huge spider lurk about on my ceiling, just as I cautiously have been doing for the past hour. That sucker was the size of Akamaru I swear...  
"Alright." He said, eyes still glued to the spider. "I.. will sleep more."  
I smiled. "Alright! Now... can you get rid of that spider? Please?"  
I really didn't like spiders.  
Gaara let out a very small chuckle, it was barely audible, but it was there. He closed his eyes and within seconds his sand swooped up and grabbed the spider and took it out through my open window.  
I happily shoved a sushi roll into my mouth. "Thanks!"

It's been two days since the battle with Ki.  
Daisuke, who was supposed to be in critical condition, was up and ready to prey on Temari within a few hours. My ankle was still burned but the wound wasn't as serious anymore. It was healing rather quickly.  
Gaara and I are currently sitting in my room, chairs pulled up to the table underneath my window admiring the gorgeous view from outside. I forced him from his office a few hours ago and declared we were going to have lunch together and bond like normal couples do.  
When I had said that, It was really just meant to be lighthearted and funny, but Gaara took it seriously.  
"If normal couples eat lunch together and... bond.. then I want to do that with you." He had said to me while I drug him through Suna by the arm.  
Normally I would have turned around and explained how it was a joke but, Gaara needed a break from Kazekage for a few hours.  
I had made sushi rolls and rice balls for lunch, as well as some shrimp tempura and tea.  
I wasn't much of a cook but if it involved rice I could do it no problem at all!

"Gaara.." I wanted his attention. He was poking at the shrimp tempura with one chopstick.  
"Yes?" He asked not bothering to raise his head from the shrimp tempura. It seemed that as more important than our conversation right now.  
"I need to tell you something..." I began. "Something Ki told me lastnight."  
Gaara raised his head, suddenly interested in what I had to say.  
"Lastnight, Ki had told me..."

_"There's a spy for the Akatsuki, hiding in Sunagakure! But who it is you'll never find out, nor will you love long enough to try!_  
_Ki stopped laughing and her face grew dead serious._  
_"I'm going to love torturing you..." She sneered licking her lips. "I was assigned this mission specifically for eliminating you. Consider this payback for taking out so many of our members these past few months."_

After I told him everything Ki had said, his face grew serious, and he wore a look of concern.  
This was not a good sign.. had I just ruined our perfect lunch together?  
Maybe I should have waited to tell him...  
"Mayu.." I raised my head. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
I bit my lip. "I.. I was too tired from the battle and it slipped my mind. I only just remembered it.."  
He nodded his head and placed his chopstick's down. Gaara only did this when he was finished eating.  
"I have to go put a patrol up. You're in danger and the Akatsuki-"  
"No stay!" I pretty much demanded, reaching acrossed the table and grabbing his arm. Gaara looked over at me.  
"Stay please... I'm enjoying our time together, I just want us to have a normal lunch for now. This can all wait another hour can't it?" I begged, trying to persuade him to stay and finish the lunch with me.  
Gaara made me stay in the hospital all day yesterday while he filed reports and did research on the Akatsuki. Today he spent the first few hours cooped up in his office while I hung out with his secretary, Kokoro.  
I just wanted another hour together before he went back to hibernating in his office.  
Gaara studied my face for a few moments, I watched as his eyes darted from my eyes to my mouth. Letting out a heavy sigh Gaara slid back into his chair.  
I smiled as he picked his chopsticks back up, skewered a piece of tempura.  
"What is this?" He asked holding it up to show me, a smile creeping onto his face.  
"It's Shrimp tempura!" I told him happily.  
I watched intently as Gaara popped the tempura into his mouth, chewed for a few moments with absolutely no expression on his face, and then swallowd.  
The bad thing about Gaara and his emotionless-ness was that I never knew how he was feeling. He could be hating my tempura so much right now that he was dying on the inside and I wouldn't have a clue.  
"It's good." He said calmly, stabbing another one with his chopstick and popping it in his mouth.

After lunch, Gaara had let me use his private bath.  
The nurse at the hospital yesterday wiped my face and arms with a wet cloth, but that didn't help at all.  
I still felt super dirty.  
"I can't believe that I had lunch with him when I looked like this..." I sneered at myself in the mirror.  
I looked quite frightful!  
When I walked into his back, I was amazed at how big it was.  
It was absolutely huge! All of Sunagakure could fit in his bath, it was almost like an ocean. A boiling hot ocean..  
I happily dove in, I really needed a bath.  
"This is heaven!" I sighed, leaning back in the water. "I need to make a mental note to never let myself get super gross like that ever again..."  
I leaned back against the side of the bath and closed my eyes. The water was so hot it was actually making a sound, it sounded a bit strange to me.  
Not many people can say they have the ability to hear water being hot.  
'I wonder what Gaara is doing...' I wondered, playing with a random rubber ducky I found floating in the water.  
I realle hoped that this was Temari's duck.  
Feeling a bit lonely I looked around the bath house. It was so big and so empty, I was the only one here.  
It was kinda depressing really. I missed Gaara.  
It was boring sitting here by myself so I decided against taking my time, I wanted to get out as quickly as possible!  
I washed myself so fast I had actually forgotten that I had already washed myself, and ended up washing myself a second time just to be sure.  
My hair took a long time to wash. It was long, tangled and messy.  
When I was done, I wrapped a towel around myself and hurried out of that bath, making sure Temari or Kankuro weren't lurking around.  
They were allowed to use Gaara's bath as well, and I would just die if I ran into them like this.  
After I dried myself off, I stared at the clothes I had laid out, dreading putting them on.  
'Do I do this?' I asked, unsure of myself. 'Should I take the extra step?'  
I wanted to make Gaara like me more, but this was way outside of my comfort zone.  
Gaara's bath was attached to his mansion, so I could just dart into my room and quickly get changed.  
But that would mean running through his mansion in a towel..  
Deciding I had no other choice, I dropped the towel and picked up my clothes.

After I had forced them onto my body, I almost died when I saw myself in the mirror.  
"I look like.. a total slut." I groaned at my reflection.  
I had chosen to wear a light pink kimono-style blouse held shut with a dark red obi. (Like the under-dress-thing Tsunade wears.)  
The hem reached down just passed my thighs, it was pretty much a dress on me, so I wore it without pants.  
My hair was brushed and kept down, I couldn't do much with it to make myself seem prettier.  
The thing that made me frown the most was that I wasn't wearing anything underneath of my kimono, so I had an insane amount of cleavage popping out.  
"Do I really want to do this?" I asked myself in the mirror. This is my first time ever wearing something this revealing before.  
"I guess... if Gaara and I are dating, I should wear nicer clothes around him. I doubt he likes all those turtle necks and sweaters I wear."  
Frowning I looked down at the my exposed chest.  
"I guess sometimes you need to take one for the team."

As I was walking through Sunagakure, everyone and I mean everyone, was staring at me.  
It made me feel so dirty.  
My boobs were getting cold even in the blazing heat.  
'Boys like revealing clothing...' I convinced myself. 'Even though Gaara and I are already dating, and I'm not even sure if he has hormones yet.. this will hopefully work.'  
I hoped Gaara had hormones. If not I was just going to look stupid.  
When I arrived at the Kazekage's office, I could sense somebody was in the room with Gaara.  
And when I realized who it was, It took all I had not rush in there and make a scene.  
I opened the door, and the first thing I saw was Kokoro, Gaara's secretary, with her ear pressed up against the door.  
"Miss. Mayu!" She harshly whispered, once she saw me standing behind her. "It's about time you got here, hurry!"  
I didn't have time to ask what she meant by that because she pushed me towards the door.  
I kneeled down to her level. "What is going on?" I whispered.  
"Matsuri is trying to persuade the Lord Kazekage to break up with you." She told me in a panic.  
While Kokoro and I were bonding yesterday, she told me how much she hate Matsuri.  
She also told me that she likes me being the Kazekage's girlfriend because I make him so happy.  
I decided then and there that Kokoro was going to be my new best friend.

"Lord Kazekage!" I heard through the door, attracting my attention "I have loved you for years, ever since you began tutouring me I have loved you. Why did you choose her over me? Why her, why not me?!"  
It's a good thing I'm not allowed to go around killing people because I would have strangled her by now.  
"She's just an outsider, she's nobody, she's-"  
"Matsuri that is quite enough."  
Gaara's harsh and demanding voice silenced the room.  
"You don't know Mayu like I do." He began, I could tell he was angry by the tone he was using. He never spoke to his Genin that way. "Mayu and I.. have been close for a very long time. When I was still a monster, who killed only to make myself feel more alive, Mayu was there for me."  
Matsuri didn't say anything.  
"She showed the most kindness towards me, than anyone ever had before, even though she knew who I was she still gave me the most beautiful smile."  
My heart began to flutter in my chest.  
"And when I realized how much of a kind, caring and loving woman she was, I knew that she was the girl that I wanted."  
"Lord Kazekage I-" Matsuri tried again, but she was cut off.  
"You haven't known me very long, Matsuri. You never gave me the time of day when I was still considered a monster in this village, nor did you ever think of me as anything but your sensei."  
I had my hand on the door, ready to make my appearance known. I couldn't stand hearing this any longer.  
"You only care about me because I am your Kazekage."  
The door opened and I walked in.

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked, arms folded acrossed my chest.  
I decided against hiding my anger, I wanted Matsuri to leave the room before I lost my temper.  
I wanted her to know I wasn't somebody you could mess around with.  
She reminded me so much of Sakura and Ino, not caring who was dating who just as long as they could get their hands all over the guy they wanted, that it made me feel sick.  
Matsuri's mouth was open as if she were about to say something before I entered, but when she turned around and saw me, her eyes grew wide. She began to look me up and down, and right now I didn't even care abut the fact that she was checking me out.  
I just wanted her to go away.  
"I um... " She began, stammering. "Uh... I just."  
"She was just leaving." Gaara said, picking up a pencil and scribbling on some papers on his desk.  
Matsuri's face fell, and she slowly gave Gaara a bow before heading for the door. Before she opened it, she looked over her shoulder at Gaara shooting him a sad look, but when she realized he wasn't lookingat her, she pointed her eyes towards me. She was trying to look fierce, but I was glaring at her with so much hatred, that as soon as our eyes met she quickly looked away.  
As soon as I heard the door shut behind me, I turned towards Gaara, he was already walking towards me.  
"How much did you hear?" He asked when he stopped in front of me.  
"Enough..." I said, feeling a bit awkward. I raised my eyes to meet Gaara's, he was looking me up and down just as Matsuri had.  
Only he let his eyes linger on my chest for a long time.  
My face must have been as red as Gaara's hair right about now.  
"So..." I tried to start a conversation, I was feeling a bit tense and awkward.  
"I like your outfit." He told me calmly. Heat rushed to my face.  
"Oh.. you do?" I asked, tugging at the hem of my dress. "I figured you might..."  
Gaara's eyes looked me up and down once again, I was feeling very exposed right now. No guy has ever seen this much of my body.  
"Why the sudden change?" He asked, not taking his eyes off my chest.  
"Well..." I began, clearing my throat. "I, uh. You're a guy and, guy's like... revealing clothes."  
I felt like an idiot.  
"I just thought you were maybe tired of my... usual clothes so I decided to try something new."

Gaara's face made a large variety of changes.  
"You... changed your clothes for me?" He asked in disbelief. I nodded.  
'He probably thinks I'm really weird right now.' I sadly thought to myself.  
I looked up towards Gaara, and as soon as our eyes met, he reached out and pulled me into a hug.  
His arms wrapped tightly around my back, holding me close enough that I could feel every curve of his body through his robes. I wrapped my arms around his waist and burried my face into his chest, trying to hide the blush that was creeping acrossed my face.  
He gave me a tight squeeze, causing my boobs to push upwards, exposing them even more than I would have liked.  
'I'm never wearing these clothes again!' I mentally told myself, I felt like I was going to die of embarassment at any moment.  
"I like you just the way you are." He told me, his tone of voice was completely different than what I was used to.  
He told me, his tone of voice was completely different than what I was used to.  
There was actual emotion in his words.  
"It doesn't matter what you wear to me. As long as you keep on being you, and you keep treating me the way you do."  
I opened my mouth, about to say something, but I couldn't think of anything to say.  
Gaara was causing me to become speechless.  
"Everything I said to Matsuri was the truth." He continued, burrying his face into my hair.  
"Gaara I.." I tried again but nothing came out. Gaara was being so sweet.  
Not once in the 10 years that Sasuke and I date, did he ever say anything to me quite like Gaara has.  
He never even made me feel this way.  
Not once.  
Gaara pulled away so we were facing each other, his arms still holding my close.  
His eyes were so intense right now I couldn't look away.  
"I love you Mayu." He told me, his voice thick with emotion.

My eyes grew so wide I felt like they were about to pop out of my head.  
'Did he-he-he just say that?!' I thought in my head. Leave it to me to stutter while thinking..  
Gaara just told me that he loved me?  
Did he even truly understand what love was?  
Thinking back, he always acted like he cared about me a lot.  
Like it was more than just a crush.  
He did keep his feelings for me after all that time apart..  
But did I love him?  
I always knew there was something special about Gaara, considering I started to like him a lot when we first met, even though I already had a boyfriend at the time.  
He has changed a lot since I first met him. He shows emotion, very little but they're still there, and he's actually smiling now.  
I've always felt strong emotions towarsd Gaara, but I was never sure of what they were.  
I had thought that maybe I was in love with Gaara, but I always ended up denying it and pushing the thought to the side, not wanting to admit it.  
But the more I think about it,  
Perhaps it really is love after all.

"I love you too, Gaara." I said, smiling as the words danced off my lips.


	28. Chapter 28: Confessions and Cuddles

***This one is longer than usual, forgive me. Also, my computer is having a seisure so if there's any random mistakes, letters or words in there that don't make sense just ignore them.**

It's been two weeks since my battle with Ki and my emotional encounter with Matsuri.

Matsuri has been avoiding me like the plague. And I was happy with that.  
If only she would avoid Gaara like that...  
She has still been falling all over him like a dog inheat, but whenever she tries anything or says anything that even remotely sounds like she's coming onto him in any way, Gaara dismisses her.  
On top of this Gaara hasn't been sending me on any missions. He says it's because no important missions have come up and the ones that do come up are just small, easy to do jobs, such as finding a missing person or hunting down rogue ninja's.  
Even though I pretend I believe what he says, deep down I know he's just paranoid about sending me out into harms way again.  
I'm not a weak little blind anymore, I'm a ninja now, and not just any ninja, the head of the ANBU Black Ops! But even so, I'm his girlfriend so It's in his nature to be overprotective.  
Instead of doing missions, he's made me his personal bodyguard, replacing Temari and Kankuro.  
Don't get me wrong I love being Gaara's bodyguard, and Temari and Kankuro were more than happy to find out they've been temporarily relieved of their duties, but I still think following Gaara around Sunagakure to make sure he didn't get attacked was a bit, well, boring.  
Unnecessary.  
Pointless.  
Gaara's sand protects him from everything and everyone, so really, why did he need a bodyguard?  
My mind was racing through all possible reasons why Gaara would need somebody to follow him around 24\7, protecting him from the harm that he's more than capable of protecting his own self from.  
Was he scared?  
Nope, as far as I can tell, Gaara shows no fear.  
Paranoid? The only thing Gaara's paranoid about is that Shukaku will rape and pillage his village while he sleeps, even though that's highly impossible considering he no longer hosts Shukaku.  
Bored?  
Quite possibly. The life of a Kazekage seems more than boring, but even if Gaara was bored, he never ever shows it.  
There as only one possibly reason that I could think of that made any bit of sense.  
Gaara is lonely.

It seems strange that somebody who has all these adoring, annoying, and insane fans could be lonely. Not to mention the fact that everybody in Sunagakure and beyond looks up to him as a strong leader and would cut the skin off their own backs if Gaara asked them to.  
But that was the only reason I could come up with.  
It sounded highly plausible. Gaara made Temari and Kankuro follow him around everywheres and from what I heard, he constantly chatted them up about random things like the weather, what he had planned for the future of Sunagakure, random children running around playing, Kakuro even told me Gaara and him once had a 45 minute conversation about why Gaara prefers to eat his rice with a spoon as opposed to using chopsticks.  
It was understandable to seek companionship, especially with ones siblings.  
And it made sense to want company, friends , and somebody to talk to especially when the majority of your day is spent scribbling on paper, ordering people around and talking to irritating old people.  
But what I didn't understand was, how could Gaara possibly be lonely?  
Today, I was stuck with him for the entire day, and I was determined to find out why.

"Hey you!" I yelled, tearing a page out of a dictionary I found on one of the shelves in Gaara's office and crumpling it up into a ball. "Catch!"  
I threw the ball of paper as hard as I could in the direction of Gaara.  
He didn't look up from the report he was reading, nor did he even flinch.  
His sand shot up and captured my paper ball, dropping to the ground with a sad 'plop.'  
I sighed, this was one boring day.  
First, my wake-up call was Gaara hovering overtop of me. It was creepy being watched while you slept.  
When confronted he told me he wasn't used to waking people up and he wasn't sure how to do it.  
It was strange, but believable.  
Then, after a quick bath, and an even quicker breakfast, followed by putting on clothes faster than I've ever done before, Gaara and I went to his office.  
He had to file reports for recent missions, as well as recieve them, review them, and grade them.  
This all started at about, 9am.  
It was now 2pm. And he was only about halfway done his report-sorting-duties.  
My stomach was growling viciously and I had a feeling Gaara was just as hungy as I was. His breakfast was just a skimpy bowl of rice, I atleast managed to throw some fish on top to make it seem more filling.  
Checking over my shoulder to make sure Gaara was still absorbed in his paper, which he was, I ripped the back cover out of the dictionary I had been slowly mutilating all day and took the pen Gaara had given me earlier.  
He was tired of me ripping pages out of his dictionary so he gave me a pen and paper to draw on so I could amuse myself.  
The paper was still on the floor where I left it. The dictionary was more amusing.  
Looking over my shoulder one last time to see Gaara in the exact same position he was minutes before, I quickly scribbled a note on the back cover of the dictionary.

_"Kokoro, Kazekage and I are starving, order us some food and we will love you forever."_

I tip-toed over to the door and slid the note under, making sure to knock so Kokoro would look in the direction of the door.  
Standing by the door I listened, hearing the satisfying 'shhwt' as Kokoro picked up the book cover, and the even more satisfying sound of her ordering somebody who was in her office to hear to the nearest ramen bar and get three bowls of ramen, two plates of sushi and some miso soup, I smiled happily and skipped back over to my spot by the bookshelf.  
"Mayu come here." I heard Gaara call from acrossed the room.  
"Yes Kazekage-sama." I said, calmly walking over. I made sure to show the utmost formalities when addressing Gaara, even when it was just us.  
"Daisuke gave me a report for your mission a little under two weeks ago." He paused, invisible eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "But he didn't mention anything about the spy.. why wouldn't he inform me of something so critical?"  
I blinked. "He didn't?"  
This was strange, Daisuke should have mentioned it to Gaara, it was definitely something worth telling the Kazekage.  
"Perhaps he forgot. I think Ki mentioned it around the same time Daisuke got knocked out." I explained. I had the feeling Gaara was now suspecting Daisuke of being the spy.  
Gaara nodded. "Let's hope so.."  
The very idea that Gaara would even assume that Daisuke as a secret spy for the Akatsuki was insane! Daisuke was as innocent as ever, he would never turn on the people he cared about.  
I know Daisuke better than anybody ever could, if he was a spy I would know.  
"Anyways, Kazekage-sama." I said, desperatly trying to change the topic. "Why don't you take a break? You've been working for 5 hours straightwithout a break. Kokoro ordered us some lunch, put your papers away and come help me make tea." I suggested.  
"Kazekage-sama?" Gaara gave me a "what the heck?" look.  
"Yes sir?"  
"Why are you calling me Kazekage-sama?" Gaara asked.  
"Because you are the Kazekage." I said, raising an eyebrow. I shouldn't do that so much, Gaara might get jealous. "I need to be formal don't I?"  
Gaara stood up. "Yes but you are my girlfriend, and I don't want you to treat me differently just because I'm also the Kazekage. Lastime I checked I was your boyfriend before I was the Kazekage. Understand?"  
I nodded. "Alright then."  
"Good. It's just 'Gaara' I don't care who's around or where we are, you are to call me 'Gaara.'" He demanded with a smile.  
Before I could say anything else, Kokoro opened the door holding a tray of food.  
"Kazekage-sama, Mayu, your lunch has arrived."

"I am so hungry I could eat a horse!" I yelled, passing Gaara his sweet tea.  
While Kokoro and Gaara got out lunch arranged, I made a quick pot of chilled sweet tea. It was perfect for a hot day like today.  
"I've eaten horse." Gaara told me, sipping on his tea. "It's not good at all."  
"It was a figure of speech... Gaara." I said in disbelief. "I can't believe you ate horse meat!" I was horrified at the thought.  
Gaara set his cup down. "My father liked it a lot. He was the only one who did, neither one of my siblings liked it and neither do I." He said calmly, picking up his chopsticks.  
Kokoro has ordered three bowls of ramen- One prawn ramen for me, one beef ramen for Gaara, and a vegetable ramen for her.  
She also ordered Gaara and I a sushi-combo plate, and some miso soup. As soon as the shop found out the order was for the Kazekage, they also sent over some steamed rice, toasted squid, kimchi and sweet bean cakes.  
"This is a little much." I said eyeing all the food that was set out on the Gaara's recently-cleaned off desk.  
"Should we send some back?" Gaara suggested, taking a bite of kimchi.  
I shook my head. "No way! Whatever we don't eat I'll take it over to your brother and sister. I'm sure they'd love this stuff." I said, popping some rice into my mouth.  
Gaara looked puzzled, but said nothing.  
After we ate, there was a lot left over food, so I packed it up to take to Temari and Kankuro.  
"I'll be right back, don't talk to anybody, and don't leave. I can't have you dying on me now can I?" I said jokingly.  
Gaara chuckled and waved a hand at me signaling for me to leave.

On my way to the Kazekage mansion, I passed a house with some children sitting on the step.  
They were both crying.  
As soon as I passed them, they suddenly became alert and the older of the two, who was a boy, leaped up from the step.  
"Excuse me miss..." He said, tugging on my pants. "That stuff... it smells so good."  
I bent down so I was his height. "It does doesn't it." I said with a smile.  
The little boy was dirty, and his poncho had quite a few holes in it. The little girl behind him on the step wore a poncho of equal colour and size with just as many holes. Her hair stuck up on end.  
"Can I... can I have some? Just a little, I won't take much." He asked shyly. His eyes were glossy, as if tears were about to fall any moment. "I just want to feed my sister and my mother." He said.  
My heart went out to these kids. I could tell just by looking at them that they were poor, and now that I looked closely at the two, they looked like they were hungry.  
I smiled. "This food was for somebody else." I told him.  
His face fell.  
"But, I think I want to give it to you more." I told him, handing over the basket.  
The boys face lit up like brighter than the sun.  
"Can I... can I really?!" He exclaimed, letting his tears fall. I nodded.  
"Of course! But you have to split it farely and equally between you, your sister and your mother." I said winking at him. "There's some sushi rolls in here, there's more than enough for you three. There's also some rice, fried squid, and sweet bean cakes in here. There's a small piece of kimchi left, so you'll all have to take a small portion of that. I put a jar of chilled sweet tea in there too, so I hope you enjoy it!" I told him, ruffling his hair. "When you're finished eating, go tell the man that works at the ramen shop acrossed from the Kazekage's office how you liked his food, and nextime you see me, tell me what you think of the sweet tea okay?"  
The boy was nodding so fast I thought he was going to knock himself out.  
"What's your name?" I asked him, handing him the basket. He happily took it.  
"Bruno! I was named after my dad!" He exclaimed proudly.  
I smiled. "I like your name, Bruno. I'm Mayu!" I told him.  
"Mayu.. I won't forget you I promise." He said grinning like a madman.  
I stood up to leave, watching as he ran up to his sister and grabbed her hand dragging her inside, the basket of food tightly tucked under one arm.  
"Mom! Mom! An ANBU just gave us some food, mom come eat!" I heard him yell as he ran through the house.  
I felt bad, that food was for Gaara's siblings, but I felt that they deserved it more than they did.  
And I was content with my decision.  
I decided that later I'll just go order them some food and take it to them as payback.

I had been gone a long time, sort of, and Gaara was expecting me to return soon.  
Sighing to myself I turned to head back to Gaara's office, however, when I turned around, I unexpectedly came face to face with a pair of seafoam eyes.  
"Gaara!" I yelled, grabbing my chest with my hand. "You startled me." I said.  
Had he just seen me give away the food that was meant for his siblings?  
"What you just did.. " He began, looking at me with such intensity, it was almost scary.  
"Gaara I'm sorry, I know that was for Temari and Kankuro but-"  
"You really are an angel."  
My face turned bright red. "Really a-an.. angel?"  
Gaara nodded.  
"What you just did was an act of kindness that I have never seen any other human being perform in all my years of living." He told me.  
"Well they were hungry. My heart went out to them, I wanted to make them.. happy."  
"You wanted to make them happy?" Gaara questioned.  
I nodded. "As long as others are happy, I'm happy." I told him with a smile.  
Gaara closed his eyes. "I am the same. When you are happy, I am happy."  
"And when you are happy, I am happy." I echoed, reaching out and taking his hand.  
"You truly are a kind person Mayu." He said, turning around to head back to his office, me right beside him.  
"When I was still a monster, a cold hearted monster, you came to me and you opened up to me. You gave me a chance and even though I did not return your happiness, enthusiasm or.. you love, you still stayed with me. You slept on my shoulder many times, and trusted me to watch over you and keep you safe, even though you knew I could very well kill you at any moment. When everybody warned you to stay away you rejected them, claiming that we were friends and ignoring their warnings, you still came back to me.  
You never left me Mayu, not once did you give up on me. Nor did you shun me, or hate me, or fear me. Because of you I have felt true happiness, and I have finally found out what love is."  
We stopped walking, and stood just outside of the Kazekage's office.  
"Mayu Nakamura, you truly have a gift. The gift to give happiness to people who once felt nothing but sadness. You give people kindness, when all they've ever felt was miserly. You give people... love, when all they ever learned was how to hate."  
Tears were starting to well up in my eyes.  
"And that is why I love you."  
Gaara had a way with words, it made me seriously wonder why he was still a virgin!  
He was truly the most warm hearted, and caring man I have ever met..  
I threw myself at Gaara, burrying my face into his robes. I didn't want him to see me cry, nor did I want any people who happened to be walking by to see me cry.  
My body suddenly felt light, and a wind picked up, spinning violently around me and suddenly, the atmosphere changed.  
When I opened my eyes, we were inside of Gaara's office.  
"I have it when you do that.." I laughed, wiping my eyes. Even though I hated it when he randomly teleported us somewheres, I was glad we weren't out in public anymore.  
We were already attracting a crowd just by standing there talking, imagine how many people would swarm at a crying ANBU and the Kazekage.

"Why are you crying? Did I offense you?" Gaara asked, his voice full of concern. He reached up with one sleeve of his robe and wiped the remainder of my tears dry.  
"No of course not, I'm crying because I'm happy." I told him.  
"Crying because you're.. happy?" He clearly didn't see many tears of joy.  
"That's right. People can cry because they're happy or because they're sad. Emotions are strange things." I explained. He nodded, it was pretty simple to understand.  
"Gaara let me ask you something?"  
"What is it?"  
"Are you.. lonely?" I have been wanting to ask him this all day but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Now seemed like the perfect time.  
It was now or never.  
"Lonely?" He questioned, closing his eyes. "I was lonely once."  
'Lonely.. once?' I wondered to myself. 'If he was lonely once then why does he still look so lonely now?'  
"My whole life I felt like I never truly had anybody but myself. So I have always been lonely." He began. "When I met you, my loneliness began to vanish, you gave me hope. Hope that someday I could learn to love me, and that someday I might learn to learn them as well." He leaned his head on top of mine, pulling me closer. "Then Uzumaki Naruto came, and told me he lived the same life I have, but instead of letting his loneliness and hate consume him, he never gave up. And that was when I realized I needed to change.. so now I have changed, and people respect me, and look up to me, and as I can see some people even adore me. But even though I have friends, admirers, comrades and teammates, I can't help but feel lonely.  
Like any one of them could turn on me at any moment. And then I'll have nobody."  
I started crying again halfway through his speech. I will never know what it's like to grow up so alone, so.. angry. I will never be able to experience the pain that Gaara grew up with, nor will I ever understand it.  
But what I can do, is make sure that Gaara is never alone again.

He will never experience the pain of loneliness ever again.  
Not as long as I'm alive.

"Gaara, you will never be alone. As long as I am here.. I promise that you will never be alone." I looked up at Gaara. "You will always have me, and Temari, and Kankuro. So please don't be lonely anymore.."  
I sounded like a little kid, asking somebody not to be lonely anymore, but I couldn't help it. I didn't know what else to say.  
But I had to say something.  
Gaara's eyes began to sparkle, and I saw something in his face that I have never seen before.  
Was it happiness? Excitement? Joy? Relief?  
Or a mix of all four?  
A smile broke out acrossed Gaara's face, the biggest and most genuine smile I have seen on his face yet.  
"Thank you... Mayu." He said, leaning in and capturing my lips in a kiss.  
I smiled into the kiss, and a few more tears began to fall. They were tears of pure joy, I was so happy that Gaara was happy.  
Like I said, as long as other people are happy, I'm happy.

While Gaara and I were happily making out in his office, I was completely aware of the presence lurking outside of Gaara's door, and honestly I was glad that she was listening to our entire conversation.  
I knew she was eavesdropping when we were talking on the street, I saw her spying on us from behind a pole, and she apparently decided to sneak inside to eavesdrop some more.  
Even though she was more than aware of how Gaara and I felt about each other, I still couldn't help but feel she wasn't about to give up so easily.  
I had an even bigger feeling that Matsuri was going to be one big obstacle for me.  
One that won't be easy for me to get around.

After Gaara and I pulled away from one another, he decided to take the rest of the day off.  
Informing his secretary Kokoro that he was leaving for the day he left her in charge of missions for the time being, recieving and handing out reports.  
He said he was not to be disturbed unless a critical situation turned up, like everybody in the village suddenly died or we were all being attacked.  
Gaara and I had a race, without the use of chakra, jutsu's, or sand of any sort, back to his mansion. The winner, decided the activities for the rest of the evening.  
I won by a landslide! It was shocking actually, part of me thinks that Gaara had let me win on purpose, but the rest of me was just excited that I had beat the Kazekage at a common footrace!  
"I win! That means I'm in charge all night!" I said, giving him a victory peace sign. Gaara calmly walked passed me, not even bothering to open his eyes.  
"You're in charge of activities, not everything." He bluntly told me, unlocking the front door.  
"That's what you think..." I said with an evil smirk, following him into the house.  
I was amazed at his stamina. Gaara wasn't panting at all and here I was breathing heavily and out of breath.  
Maybe I should work out more..  
As soon as we entered the mansion, I ran upstairs to change while Gaara went to his private bath-house. He said that he wouldn't be long, he wasn't a fan of wasting time.  
Standing in my room, I had a heated debate with myself over what I wanted to wear.  
"I'm in charge today.." I said, looking through my drawers. "So I should decide on what I wanna do before I pick my clothes. I don't wanna go out in public wearing pyjama's, and I don't wanna laze around the house wearing a dress so..."  
A hundred idea's popped into my head at once.  
One on one combat between Gaara and I? Suicidal!  
Karaoke? Gaara would sooner eat a moth, and honestly so would I.  
Drawing? I was horrible, and Gaara was actually quite good. He has a sketch pad in his office that he draws in from time to time and I went through it while he was in a meeting once.  
Perhaps we can take a walk? Matsuri is on the prowl, plus people would swarm poor Gaara so we wouldn't get very far. Plus with my luck this would be the day when we get ambushed without weapons or armour.  
Maybe Gaara and I can just hang out around the house, we could bake a cake or cookies or something and maybe sit and talk. It was a very plain thing to do but It was the best thing I could come up with. Besides I like it when Gaara and I just sit around talking, it makes me happy.  
Deciding on just black sweatpants and a white T-shirt, I pulled my long, tangled hair into a ponytail and rushed out of my room to go hunt down Gaara.

Sensing his chakra in his room I skipped down the hall towards Gaara's bedroom, and knocked on the door. He really didn't take long at all.  
"Are you wearing clothes?" I asked him, secretly hoping he said no but let me in anyways.  
"Yeah." He replied.  
I frowned. 'No fair...' I haven't seen Gaara naked yet. I haven't got the chance to see him shirtless! But I could tell he had a very nice body just by looking at him and it caused thoughts of a naked Gaara to cross my mind from time to time.  
I reached out and grasped the doorknob, shaking my head to get rid of all the dirty thoughts. "I'm coming in." I yelled, turning the knob and pushing the door open.  
When I stepped inside of Gaara's room, my dirty thoughts took over once again.  
Gaara's room was easily twice the size of mine, with a colour scheme of navy and black.  
In the center of his room, pushed against the back wall was a large bed that was easily the size of two king-sized beds. Where he found a bed that size I had no idea.  
His floor was marble, but a large, black square rug was spread out over the center of his floor an easily took up the entire space.  
To the right side of his room he had a large closet with various outfits hung up, as well as a rack with a rather large assortment of shoes placed on top of it.  
To the left of his room he had his own private bathroom, which made me extremely jealous.  
He had a dresser with an assortment of ornaments, awards, scrolls, and a random cactus was on the wall closest to where I was. A small bedside table sat to the right of his bed, with a large glass door that opened to reveal a patio was to the left.  
And of course, right there on the bed, with nothing but black pants on, was a wet, shirtless, Gaara.

"Uh..." I tried, unable to take my eyes off of him. "I uh..."  
He sat on the end of his bed, with one leg on the floor and the other folded underneath him.  
Gaara was drying his hair with a towel, while tiny drops of water fell off of the ends of his hair and landed on his bare chest.  
I watched as few water droplets slowly rolled down his chest, and fell onto his pants. My face grew rather hot rather quickly, and I swear if I was a guy a flag would be popping up right now.  
"What's wrong?" He asked, tossing the towel onto the floor beside his bed before standing up.  
"N... nothing's wrong." I tried, pulling on the collar of my shirt. "It's just a bit hot in here that's all."  
"I'm sorry." He said, walking towards me. "It's only because I just got out of the bath."  
Gaara was a very toned guy, that much I already knew, but he had the best pair of abs I have ever seen in my life.  
He stopped in front of me and reached out, taking my hand in his, he smiled down at me.  
"What are we doing?" He asked, leaning down and kissing me on the forehead.  
"Baking cookies." I told him happily, pulling him out of his room.  
I was hoping he would just walk around shirtless like this for the rest of the night, but he insisted that baking cookies shirtless was dangerous so he put on a red T-shirt which made me sad.  
He still looked good though.  
"Now..." I said, pulling all the ingredients out of the cupboard. "We'll need... all of this of course. Can you preheat the oven?" I asked him.  
"Preheat?"  
'You've got to be kidding me...' I thought. 'Didn't anybody ever teach you to cook?!'  
"Yeah. Go over to the oven and take the dial on the far right and turn it until the little black line is on the 350 mark." I explained, watching him over my shoulder.  
Gaara walked over to the oven, and inspected it for a good 5 minutes before he eventually found the dial. Slowly he turned it until it was set to 350.  
"Now what?" He asked, turning back to me.  
"Leave it for now." I told him, setting out all the necessary bowls. "Did anybody ever teach you to cook?"  
Gaara shook his head. "Father always hired people to cook for him, and now that he's gone Temari and Kankuro cook for me."  
I frowned. 'Poor guy can't cook...'  
I decided then and there that I would teach Gaara to be a master chef, one way or another!

Gaara really wanted to crack the eggs so I tasked him with mixing all the wet ingredients, while I did the dry ones.  
After that he insisted on pouring the dry ingredients into the wet ones, while I mixed.  
Then he wanted to put the cookies on the tray and put them in the oven. Afterwards, he stood there and watched them cook for the entire 20 minutes.  
It was cute, he seemed to be having fun. I was a bit worried about how close his face was to the oven though.  
After they were finished cooking, and the mess was cleaned up, Gaara grew impatient and wanted to eat them all right then and there.  
I had to smack his hand away quite a few times, I even caught him trying to sneak one using his sand!  
They were all still far too hot to eat and if he burned himself he might get mad and strangle the cookies to death with his sand, which I didn't want to happen. I was proud of our cookies...  
About ten minutes later I decided Gaara had waited long enough and I let him help himself to the cookies.  
"This is good!" He exclaimed wide eyed, devouring his first cookie and heading in for a second one. "These are better than store bought."  
I laughed, taking a bite of my cookie. "If course! Home-made is always better than store bought." I told him.  
He paused, and lowered the cookie he was about to consume. "Can we.. make things like this more often?" He asked nervously. "I've never really baked or cooked anything before... I always let others do it for me. I had fun tonight, I like cooking." He told me, giving me a soft smile.  
"I love to cook as well. I'll teach you some recipes." I told him, taking a bite of my cookie.  
Gaara smiled. "I'd like that.."  
We spend the rest of the night eating cookies and talking about, well, anything!  
Gaara told me about Temari's cooking and how inedible it really is. He says he eats it, but only because he's hungry and wants to make his sister happy. Kankuro on the other hand, openly disses her cooking. I thought it was sweet how he wanted to make his sister happy.  
I told him about the times I met Sakura, and Naruto, and even Sasuke even though I hated just saying his name. We then discussed our huge changes in life, and how we both have become better people. We already knew pretty much all there was to know about each other, but it was still fun to just sit and talk.  
By the time we were done, half the cookies were gone and we were tired and out of breath.  
"I guess it's bedtime." I said with a yawn. Gaara nodded. "Yeah, you're right."  
"Are you going to sleep tonight, Gaara?"  
"Only because you want me to."

Temari and Kankuro were away on a misson, one that I should have been on, so Gaara and I had the house to ourselves.  
It made me glad that it was just the two of us, It was fun just hanging out with Gaara.  
Kankuro had left us a note saying we weren't to do any "adult-activities" while they were gone and if we did it had to be on one of our beds.  
Gaara had no idea what he was talking about, and I was far too embarassed to explain it to him so I told him to ask Kankuro to explain to to him when he got home. He agreed and told me that he would, which scared me because I knew that was exactly what he was going to do.  
After we brushed our teeths, we said goodnight and kissed each other goodbye.  
While I lay in my bed, my mind wouldn't stop wandering around. It made it very difficult to sleep.  
'I'm so happy right now..' I thought to myself, smiling into my pillow. 'How did I get so lucky?'  
It was strange to think my life would turn out so perfect, I never expected it. Not in a million years!  
'Gaara is perfect for me. I know I'm only 17, and I thought Sasuke was perfect as well, but..' I sighed. 'I really believe with all my heart that Gaara is perfect for me.'  
It was nothing but the truth.  
I felt safe when I was with Gaara, and he always seemed to be there for me even when I didn't want him to be.  
He cared about me, just as much as I cared about him. We were there for each other when nobody else was there for us.  
I made him smile, and he makes me smile all the time.  
He made my heart beat fast like never before, even after all these years of being together.  
'I guess this is what love feels like.' I smiled to myself.  
All this thinking was causing me to become more awake. I rolled over and looked at my clock.  
"11:52pm..." I growled. I was so tired but yet I couldn't sleep!  
'I wonder if Gaara's still awake...' I wondered to myself, slipping out from underneath the covers.  
I tip-toed down the hall towards Gaara's room and listened closely at the door. Silence.  
'Is he sleeping?' I gently opened the door.  
He wasn't sleeping. He was sitting up, shirtless once again, with a lamp on, reading a book.  
He also was wearing reading glasses.

"Hi.." I squeaked, making sure my eyes stayed focused on his face. I didn't feel like stammering like an idiot tonight.  
"Oh Mayu." He said, realizing I was there. He closed his book and took off his glasses. "I didn't see you there, is something wrong?"  
I shook my head. "I.. just can't sleep." I admitted, stepping into his room, shutting the door behind me.  
He reached over and set his book and glasses on his table, and then pulled back the sheets beside him, gesturing for me to come in.  
'Don't mind if I do!'  
I literally ran over to his bed and dove right under the covers, and snuggled up to Gaara. His bed was so much more comfy than mine, and warm too.  
Gaara slid down into the bed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him.  
"Do you want to stay up and talk?" He asked, brushing some hair out of my face.  
I shook my head. "No I'm tired." I took a deep breath. "Can I.. sleep with you tonight?" I asked him, feeling a nervous knot form in my stomach.  
"Of course." He said, and the light instantly shut itself off. I figured it was either controlled by his mind or his sand did it.  
"Thank you, Gaara." I whispered, snuggling closer to his warm chest.  
He kissed my forehead, and then began playing with my hair. It was a tangled mess, but he managed to gently untangle each strand with his fingers, and once it was all smoothed out he began to play with it some more, just how I like it.  
It was so relaxing, I felt my eyes grow heavy within seconds.  
"Goodnight Gaara." I whispered, wanting to get one more 'good night' in before sleep completely consumed me.  
"Goodnight, Mayu.." Gaara said, stealing one last kiss. "Sweet dreams."  
"Get some sleep..." I mumbled, dozing off.  
I slept wonderfully that night, I had sweet, peaceful dreams and I didn't wake up once.  
This was the first time I had ever slept with a guy before, and It was really peaceful and relaxing.  
Almost... natural.


	29. Chapter 29: Perverted Mayu

***This chapter contains semi-mature content! This ****chapter also sucks.. forgive me! I had a few requests for mature content, but I've never written 'rated M' content before and I'm not very good at it so.. I decided to leave it for another chapter, but anyways I hope that you enjoy!**

_"Naruto?" I called out into the air. "Naruto where are you?"  
Naruto and I were playing up on the roof of our apartment building. I had lost my eyesight a few weeks prior so I had numerous bandages snaked around my tender wounds, my world was dark.  
I could not see.  
Him and I were playing ninja when he suddenly vanished. I couldn't find him, and I was alone and scared.  
"Naruto this isn't funny please... where are you?" I called out once more, feeling for my surroundings.  
I had no idea what the roof of our apartment looked like. If we had a chimney I wouldn't know, and if there were loose tiles I couldn't tell.  
It was truly terrified.  
"Naruto where are you?" I called out one more time, inching forward a few steps.  
The edge of the roof was surely near, and I was trying to find it so I knew where my boundaries were.  
I was right about one thing, the edge of the roof was very close to me.  
A lot closer than I had thought.  
I took one step further, blindly searching for where the roof ended and air began.  
"Mayu look out!"  
A voice called out to me in warning- It was Naruto's voice.  
But he was too late.  
As I set my foot down, it fell straight through the air and pulled my body along with it with a shrill and startled scream.  
While my left leg fell through the air, my right leg buckled beneath my weight, sliding acrossed the tiles as my body was dragged towards the ground. My right leg became wedged in our rain gutter, and twisted with sickening crack.  
When I hit the ground, I lost all feeling in my body. My breath was lost, and I could hear nothing but a high pitched ringing sound.  
I felt around for my leg, I couldn't feel it. Had it fallen off?  
When I grasped my leg, a sharp, throbbing and excrutiating pain shot through my body like a knife, causing me to taste blood.  
I was shocked. Human legs weren't supposed to bend that way... what had happened to me?  
The pain was so intense, I began to feel nauseas, and suddenly weak.  
"Mayu?! Mayu!"  
Naruto's worried voice calling out to me was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.._

I awoke with a startled jolt.  
My breathing was heavy, and I felt very nauseas, just like I had in my dream.  
Only it wasn't just a dream, it was a memory.  
One that I almost forgotten.  
"What's the matter?" A soft voice tinged with concern called from my left.  
I looked over to see Gaara propped up on one elbow with one eye open, struggling to keep the opposite one open.  
His hair was stuck up in various directions, and he was wearing the bedsheet as a toga.  
Gaara was definitely _**not**_ a morning person.  
"Just... a nightmare." I told him.  
Truth is, I never told anybody about what really happened to my leg. Everybody in Konoha had already treated Naruto poorly enough as it is, if they found out he hid from a blind girl as a joke while she was wandering around aimlessly on the roof of a building, which caused her to fall and horribly break her leg well... they would surely treat him worse than they already had.  
Naruto and I kept quiet about the accident for a very long time before the Hokage forced it out of us. I made up a story about me climbing up there on my own to prove I could survive without sight and accidentally slipped on the wet roof tiles.  
I made sure Naruto told the same story, so it matched, and everybody believed us.  
"Are you sure?" Gaara asked, both of his eyes now closed.  
I softly laughed. "Of course... go back to sleep you look a zombie." I joked, gently nudging him with my hand.  
He slowly began to fall forward, face slipping from his now sweaty palm until he was face-first in his pillow.  
Sound asleep.  
I sighed. 'He sure falls asleep easily...' I thought to myself, gently brushing a strand of hair out of his face. 'Well it makes sense, he hasn't slept in 17 years...'  
Gaara sure looked cute while he slept. His breathing was soft and gentle, his bangs fell overtop of his eyes, it made him look so young.  
It was hard to believe he was only 17.  
Gaara was born on January 19th, while I was born on December 23rd of the same year.  
He was 11 months older than I was, and already he was a lot more mature. But it made sense, he has a huge responsibility as the Kazekage on his shoulders, while I am only in charge of juggling the ANBU Black Ops.  
Gaara was truly an amazing man,

I figured it was time for me to get up and go take a nice, long bath.  
Rolling over and quietly leaving a kiss on Gaara's cheek, I slid out from underneath of his warm covers and tip-toed out the door, towards my room.  
Gaara and I had the next few days off, he said it was for "bonding as a couple and going out for dates." I wasn't entirely sure where he got this vocabulary until I found a book titled "The Relationship Guide for Teenagers." hidden under his bed. The majority of the stuff written in there sounded awkward, annoying and not even close to being pleasurable so I took it upon myself to rip out rip out some pages and replace them with someof my own.  
Tucking away a piece of loose-leaf with my own dating advice scribbled on top of it inside of the now empty covers, I returned it to it's not-so-hidden hiding spot.  
My advice was simple:

_-Tell her how you really feel; Words that come from the heart are much more meaningful than fake-words you decide to spit out because you think it's what she wants to hear.  
-Sneak kisses at random, unexpected times. Surprise kisses are just as romantic as planned ones.  
-Hugs and cuddles are more than welcome.  
-Always say what's on your mind, even if it's bad.  
-Be honest! Lying in a relationship is wrong.  
-Be faithful! Cheating is worse than lying and may result in your funeral.  
-And always remember to just be yourself; A true you is the best you._

I smiled the whole way to my room.  
Deciding on traditional clothes today I pulled out a black yukata with a white butterfly design on it, and a bright red obi to match.  
It was simple, yet traditional, but also stylish. I liked this outfit.  
Grabbing my dark-grey silk bag with my toiletries in it, as well as grabbing my big-white fluffy towel I loved so much, I headed for the bathhouse.  
The bathhouse was on the Kazekage's property, but located in a seperate house in the back. Even though it was two seperate buildings, there was a small corridor connecting the two buildings, because they were so close they were practically touching each other.  
This made passage between the two buildings safe and easy to do during all seasons and all weather conditions.  
When I entered the bath house, I noticed it looked different than before.  
It was a lot.. cleaner.  
Because there was two boys and one girl using the bathhouse, and Gaara found that hiring maids and cooks would make them all lazy, the bathhouse didn't get cleaned as often as it should have.  
Temari had a big rage about it before she left, causing Kankuro to cry and Gaara to feel guilty.  
When I used the bathhouse last, it was still dirty. And Gaara was the last person to use it which can only mean..  
I smiled. "Gaara you guilty fool." I thought it was sweet, Gaara cleaning the bathhouse for his big sister. I could tell he really loves Temari.

"Oh this is wonderful!" I yelled, sinking lower into the hot, steamy water.  
I had washed my hair the moment I entered, and now my conditioner was working it's magic while my hair was clipped up, out of waters reach.  
"I just love baths." I said, reaching for the rubber ducky with my foot. "They're so.. calming."  
The rubber ducky turned out to be Gaara's rubber ducky. He's kept it around since he was a little boy, it's name was Kojo.  
It was a strange thought, that the Kazekage of Suna would keep a rubber ducky in his bath, but hey, to each their own I suppose.  
Lifting my right leg out of the water, I reached down and gently rubbed my fingers over my swollen knee. It didn't hurt as much anymore, only when I over-worked it, which was rarely ever these days. It was still swollen to twice the size of my left knee, and sometimes it cracked when I walked.  
But other than that it felt fine, I guess I just needed to work it out and strengthen it up some more.  
I sighed, "I should rinse the conditioner out of my hair before it gets super greasy..' I reached up and unclipped my hair, shaking it loose. It fell over my shoulders in dark brown waves, even though it straightens out as it dries.  
Diving under the water, I shook my head violently to rinse the conditioner out, crossing my legs I sat at the bottom of the bath.  
'Should I tell Gaara about what really happened to my leg...?' I thought to myself, doing a barrel-roll through the water. Part of my ninja training with Kakashi-sensei was holding my breath underwater as well as doing underwater gymnastics, so it wasn't much of a challenger for me. Plus it rinsed my hair better than anything else did.  
'Him and Naruto are so close, they look out for each other. I don't want to upset Gaara...'  
I surfaced for air, wading over to the small hot-water waterfall Gaara randomly had installed at the far end of the bath. Standing underneath of it I let the hot water flow over my hair and roll down my body, rinsing my hair clean of the conditioner and shampoo that may be left behind.  
"This feels nice.." I commented out loud, leaning my head back, letting the water wash over my face. "I wonder if Gaara's awake yet..." I wondered out loud, rubbing the water further into my face. I was not expecting anybody to reply.  
"I'm awake." A voice unexpectedly answered my question.  
I whipped my head around to see Gaara standing behind me in the bath.  
It would appear that he was also naked..

"G-g-g-g-g-g-Ga-aara!" I stammered, sinking down into the water, hoping the steam would hide my naked form.  
Even though he had already seen it.  
Gaara stood in front of me in the water, from his belly-button down was completely covered by steamy water, but part of me wishes it was as exposed as the rest of him.  
I've been a huge pervert lately and I don't know why, perhaps my hormones were taking over?  
"Did I scare you?" He asked calmly, walking passed me towards my supply of shampoo and soaps. "May I use these? I forgot mine."  
I nodded. My face was burning hot, and I wasn't sure if it was the water who was causing it to feel that way. Did Gaara even feel embarassed about this?  
I turned towards Gaara.  
He was rinsing his hair under the waterfall, apparently having short hair has it's advantages, it only took him seconds to wash and rinse his hair.  
Lines from his legs were exposed above the water's surface, meaning if Gaara moved forward even slightly, he would be completely exposed to me.  
A small, very perverted part of me wanted that to happen.  
'Stop. Thinking. Dirty. Thoughts!' I demanded of myself, sinking further under the water.  
Gaara stepped backwards, further into the water and reached for my bar of soap. He took my cloth off the edge of the bath and lathered is up, washins his muscles with it while I watched, wide eyed, without blinking.  
Suds were built up on top of his muscles, making them stick out more than they ever had before.  
'This is so hot...' I decided it was alright to be a little perverted. Just a little...  
Turning away from the scene that was playing out in front of me I drifted away a bit, tying my hardest to get the dirty images out of my mind.  
'Mayu Nakamura what's gotten into you...' I questioned myself, feeling quite flustered. 'You've been thinking very perverted thoughts about Gaara lately...'  
"Is something wrong?" I heard Gaara ask from behind me. Before I could turn around to answer him, two strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist.  
A warm, hard body pressed up against my back.  
And I could feel something bumping against the back of my leg..  
"I...I uh...um.." I really couldn't speak right now. How is Gaara so comfortable doing this? Does he even realize what he's doing? Maybe he's doing this on purpose...  
"Gaara... you uh, realize that.. we're naked. Right?" I asked, stuttering a bit here and there. I must have sounded like a total idiot.  
"Yes most people bath naked. Why do you ask?" He asked calmly, resting his chin on my shoulder.  
"Well... I don't.. know, I guess um..." I didn't know what to ask, or what to say, I was completely speechless!  
"Do couples not share baths together from time to time?" He asked. I nodded my head yes. "Well I don't see what the problem is." He stated.  
I sighed, turning around to face him. I could have swore I saw a tinge of pink acrossed his cheek, but maybe it was just the heat.  
"I want us to be that couple, Mayu. The couple that is comfortable bathing together." He said, leaning in for a kiss.  
Of course I happily accepted the kiss, completely melting into it. But my mind couldn't shake the fact that Gaara and I were naked, making out together, in his private bath...  
Feeling something hit the inside of my thigh I grew very nervous very fast.  
He was turning kind of me on.  
'Control yourself!' I demanded. 'You're only 17, you can't do anything dirty with Gaara yet!'  
It bumped against my thigh again.  
'Can I...?'  
I was being a big pervert today.  
And we needed to get out of the bath before I did something totally inappropriate.

"Bloody hell.. " I breathed, wrapping a towel around myself.  
Gaara became distracted with his rubber ducky so I took that chance to slip out un-noticed, hoping to get changed before Gaara decided to strut in naked.  
"That was.. too close." I quietly told myself, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My face was bright red, and I felt like I had just ran a marathon I was breathing so heavily.  
I was also still slightly aroused.  
"Ready to go?" I heard a familiar voice ask from behind me.  
I turned around, Gaara had a towel wrapped around his waist, while a smaller one was draped around his shoulders.  
"Um.. yes I am." I said, turning my head to hide my blush. 'This is stupid why am I hiding? He can't see anything..'  
I turned my head back to Gaara just in time to see him drop his towel.  
And trust me I saw _**everything!**_  
'Sweet mother of- AHH!' I screamed inside my head. Averting my gaze as quckly as I could, beginning a staring contest with one of the bathroom tiles. It had a large crack down the middle...  
"I need to get that fixed." Gaara spoke, walking up beside me. He must have assumed I was inspecting the damage.  
'Oh my he's still naked.' I tried resisting the urge to look. 'Do not look... for your virginity's sake DO NOT LOOK!'  
I snuck a peak at Gaara just in time to see him slip on a pair of boxers. 'Thank the gods..' I breathed a sigh of relief, and walked over to where I laid out my clothes.  
Even though Gaara's boxers were silk, and I could still see pretty much everything, it was still a relief to know he had something on to cover himself.  
A layer of clothing was all that was needed to keep me away.  
"I need to calm down." I whispered under my breath so Gaara couldn't hear.  
My perverted thoughts about Gaara need to be kept under control. If not, things could get out of hand...  
I heard the door creak, and I turned around to see Gaara had vanished. Perhaps he left without me? Or left to give my some privacy?  
Either way, this was my chance to get changed without him seeing me naked!

Dropping the towel I hurridly stepped out of it, and slipped on a pair of black, lace panties as quick as I could before reaching out to grab my bra.  
The door creaked again and I heard the slapping of wet-feet on tile.  
I froze.  
"I saw you had forgotten your hairbrush so I rushed inside to grab it for you." Gaara said, handing my my hairbrush.  
I really felt like I could die right there..  
There I stood, in nothing but black, lace underwear, completely shirtless and exposed in front of Gaara.  
Again.  
"Your body is nice." Gaara said without a single emotion, looking me up and down with his eyes.  
This was the first time any guy has seem me this exposed, and I was rather enjoying it.  
'I give up.' I decided, turning around to pick up my bra. 'He's already seen me naked, I've seen him naked, what's the use of hiding?'  
Sighing in defeat I decided there was nothing else to do but get dressed, and hope to quickly calm myself down.  
I put my bra on, watching as Gaara eyed me curiously. I wonder if he could easily unclip a bra? Not like I care...  
Slipping on my black yukata and wrapping it snug around my body, Gaara watched my every move without blinking. Could he easily unwrap a yukata? Why do I care?  
Afterwards I wrapped my small obi around my waist a few times until I was satisfied with the length, and then I tied it in a small bow in the back, while Gaara studied how I tied my bow closely. I wonder how fast he can untie an obi? Stop being a pervert Mayu...  
I turned, accepting my hairbrush from Gaara I gave him a quick thanks before briskly walking over to the mirrors.  
'Act cool..' I told myself, brushing the tangles from my hair. 'It's just your naked body that he saw...' I brushed my hair back, searching for my part. 'It's not like you disappointed him or anything...' I brushed my hair off to the sides, satisfied with my hair.  
'I can't believe I saw him naked!' I was mortified.

"What are we doing today?" Gaara asked when we got back to the house.  
I was still a little weirded out over the whole naked encounter. "Um I uh..." I had a whole day of awesome idea's planned for us, but I completely lost my train of thought when I saw Gaara naked.  
"I don't know." I said, twisting a piece of my bangs around my finger. "What do you want to do?"  
I looked over at Gaara. We were sitting on his bed, he was dressed in nothing but black sweatpants while I was in my yukata. My yukata was surprisingly comfy enough to just lay around in all day.  
My mind was racing, trying to think of something, anything, that we could possibly do today. However Gaara's lack-of-shirt and images of his naked body in the bath house kept distracting me.  
"I want to try something.." He said in a strange way, leaning towards me. "Something that came to my mind.. while in the bath house."  
My heart was racing, what did he want to do?  
Gaara's dry lips came crashing down onto mine with more force than he's ever used with me, and he threw all his weight onto me causing me to fall backwards onto the pillows.  
He hovered overtop of me on all fours, lips still locked onto mine.  
Suddenly, his tongue pried my lips apart, and forced it's way in. I sighed heavily into the kiss, I've never seen this side of Gaara before...  
While Gaara's tongue began a heated battle with my own, he slowly lowered himself down so all his weight was on top of me. Wrapping one arm around my lower back while the second one slid up my leg, and planted itself firmly on my side.  
I was definitly turned on right now.  
Wrapping my arms around Gaara's neck to deepen the kiss, I pulled himself further onto me, longing to be closer.  
'This is a new Gaara I've never seen.' I commented, completely absorbed in what was going on. 'What do I do about this?'  
I was very confused right now. Part of me wanted to just rip all of his clothes off and mount him right then and there, but then again, was I really ready?  
Was he even ready?  
As far as I'm concerned, he's taking dating advice from some cheap book he probably got from his older brother.  
So if Gaara really is coming on to me, it's more than likely it's because the book told him to.  
My thoughts were interrupted when I felt Gaara press himself close against my body, causing me to feel his every curve.  
As well as every bulge that may be forming.

'What am I doing?'  
Gaara's hand slid up the slit of my dress.  
'Do I want to do this?'  
I felt him tugging at my obi.  
'Who am I kidding, of course I do!'  
My obi became very loose, and I felt a cold breeze drift down the front of my yukata as Gaara began to mess with my hem.  
He managed to slip my shoudler loose.  
But then, of course,  
A wild interruption appears!

"Kazekage-sama!  
A voice called from downstairs.  
I cringed.  
"Matsuri..." I hissed, venom dripping from my words.  
"What does that girl want?" Gaara growled, climbing off of me.  
I heard her footsteps coming closer, did she seriously just walk into his mansion ininvited?  
Gaara walked over to the door, his pants were flattened out meaning that his excitement had died down, and he pulled out the first shirt he could reach out of his drawer and slipped it on, not wanting his number-one-over-obsessed stalker to see him shirtless.  
"I'll be back." He said angrily, shooting me a small smile before going to see what Matrusi wanted.  
I groaned, leaning back into the fluffy pillow. "I can't believe..."  
Sitting straight up I fixed my clothes, re-folding my yukata hem and tightening my obi. My hair felt terrible and it probably looked a lot worse as well, so I pulled a ribbon out of my obi and tied my hair back out of my face.  
"I swear someday I am going to strangle Matsuri." I growled, completely angry at the fact that she had just interrupted Gaara and I.  
"And we were about to..." I sighed. "Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready.."  
Although, I was pretty excited, and I could literally feel that Gaara was too. Things were heating up, I felt like I was ready and I wanted it. If Matsuri hadn't so rudely interrupted us, how far would we have gotten?  
Heavy footsteps grew louder, and the door flew open with a loud 'slam!'  
"What was that all about?" I asked flatly.  
Gaara walked over and threw himself on his bed, rolling onto his back.  
Rubbing his hands over his face he groaned. "She came into my mansion, and interrupted us because... she was bored and wanted me to assign her a mission."  
My eye twitched.  
"I told her to go to all the local restaurants and clean for them. She seemed overjoyed.." He said quite bitterly. I wonder how long she's been annoying him for? Quite possibly a little over a year.  
If know if I was stalked by somebody as annoying as Matrusi for that long I'd go a little crazy that's for sure.  
"Can you make it legal for me to kill her please?" I asked, hopeful he would grant me permission.  
He smirked. "Now what kind of a Kazekage would that make me?" He asked, rolling over to face me. I smiled back, rolling over until we were side by side.  
"Not a very good one." I pouted. Gaara leaned in and kissed me on the forehead.  
"Let's go cook some supper, I'm starving." He suggested.  
"Sounds wonderful!"

Gaara and I had made curry. It was our first time making curry, neither one of us had attempted it before but it didn't turn out so bad.  
We were sitting at the kitchen table eating our home-made curry and sipping on some tea with sprigs of mint in it.  
I decided it was time to tell Gaara the truth about how I really injured my leg. He was the first and only person I've ever told about it...  
"And that's how I injured my leg.." I finished, anticipating Gaaa's reaction. He came out and told me the entire story behind his uncle Yashamaru's death, he left out some important details the last time he told me about it, so I decided it was time to tell him the truth behind my accident.  
The truth that it was really Naruto who caused my injury.  
Even though I don't like to blame anybody.  
Gaara was silent after I told him, all that was heard coming from him was the sipping of his tea. He seemed deep in thought.  
"Gaara please don't be angry." I pleaded, reaching out and taking his hand in mind. "It was an accident, we were 5."  
He gave me a weak smile. "I guess you're right. I was also 5 when I killed Yashamaru.." he trailed off. I squeezed his hand harder.  
"Don't worry." I moved my chair closer to his, along with my bowl and cup. "You were 5, and like you said you didn't know it was him behind that mask."  
I didn't like seeing Gaara look so guilty and so sad like he did right now, it made my heart hurt.  
"Thank you, Mayu.." He whispered, leaning in for a kiss. His lips tasted like fresh mint.  
I smiled into the kiss.  
When we parted ways, I shoveled more curry into my mouth. We didn't add enough spices so it wasn't made the way I liked it but we decided it was our first time and dumping another handfull of curry-powder into it might possibly ruin the lovely flavour we managed to produce.  
So we kept it mild.  
"When are Kankuro and Temari coming back?" I asked, dabbing my lips with a napkin.  
Gaara swallowed a mouth full of food. "Tomorrow." He said sadly.  
I frowned. "So soon?"  
As much as I love Temari and Kankuro, I liked being alone with Gaara.  
"Mayu?" Gaara caught my attention.  
"Yes?"  
"Will you.. sleep with me again tonight?" He asked, his cheeks were tinted the colour of roses.  
I smiled. "Of course."  
Gaara smiled in my direction. "Will you still sleep with me sometimes, even if my siblings are home?"  
"Do you mind?" I knew that I had no problems sleeping with Gaara when other people were in the house. I just wasn't sure if he was comfortable with it.  
He nodded. "I don't mind. I want us to be the couple that sleeps together, even if it's only sometimes."  
I couldn't help but laugh as his innocence.  
Gaara was still pretty close to clueless when it came to dating an relationships, it almost made me glad that Matsuri had barged in like she did.  
Almost.  
I still would have liked to go all the way with Gaara, but I had a feeling he wasn't as ready as I was.  
And I would gladly wait until he was ready.

After supper we took a walk around Sunagakure, went out for a late night snack that consisted of Chinese food, and then headed back to the mansion for the rest and relaxation.  
We cuddle underneath of his warm blankets for hours, sharing stories and talking about anything and everything until our eyelids grew heavy and sleep took control over our bodies.  
I slept peacefully once again that night, not a single nightmare occurred.  
Instead I dreamed of Gaara and I, tangled in silk sheets.  
I know it's wrong of me to dream of such a thing but, I was already denied my chance once today, I wasn't going to deny myself a second chance even though it was merely a dream!  
Sometimes it's alright to be a little perverted.  
But only a little.


	30. Chapter 30: The Village Called Kori

"What is this stuff?"  
Gaara's nose crinkled as he reached down and grabbed a handfull of the strange, cold substance.  
"It's snow!" I laughed, scooping up a handfull and molding it into a ball.  
"S...now...?" Gaara repeated, staring nervously at his hands as they began to turn red from the cold.  
Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, along with Daisuke, Komachi and myself were on a mission to visit the Land of Snow. There was a small village located in the center of the Land of Snow that requested assistance from several nations, but all had declined. Sunagakure was their last resort, and at first Gaara had originally intended to decline their offer but after much nagging from me and Kankuro, he accepted.  
Kankuro and I really wanted to go play in some snow.

"I.. do not like snow." Gaara frowned.  
He had to deactivate his sand-shield that covered his body so he felt very vulnerable. On top of that, this was his first time seeing snow and apparently he wasn't a fan.  
"It's just frozen water." I explained, focusing all my attention on Kankuro. Him and Komachi were walking ahead of us, deep in a conversation. I thought it was cute, but that wasn't gonna stop be from having some fun.  
"Watch this." I whispered, nudging Gaara in the side. I scooped up some more snow, and molded it all into one big ball.  
Aimed.  
And threw.  
Gaara watched wide-eyed as my ball of ice made impact with the back of his big brother's head with a painful "thwack!"  
"What the-" He whipped his head around in anger.  
I ran and his behind Gaara, who coincidentally still had his ball of snow in his hands. He looked lost and confused, looking back and forth between the dripping ball of snow clenched between his fingers, and his brothers angry face.  
"Gaara! Did you just throw that at me?!" Kankuro raged, pointing a finger straight at Gaara's face.  
Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow. "What if I did?"  
Kankuro's face went blank.  
"I uh..." He began to nervously scratch the back of his head. "Nothing I guess..."  
He turned around and began running to catch up to Komachi.  
"You're lucky Gaara took the heat for you." Temari said walking up beside me. "Kankuro would have burried you alive."  
I suddenly felt something cold shoot down my back causing me to cringe. Before I had a chance to react, a laughing Dasuke ran passed me towards Temari.  
"That...that idiot!" I yelled, finally freeing the melted snow from the back of my shirt. "I will kill him."  
Gaara looked down at me, invisible eyebrows all scrunched up. "This is my first time seeing snow... I have only really read about it before." He said, wiping his wet hand off on his jacket. "Is it's purpose for playing?"  
I laughed. "No no, it doesn't really have a purpose.. it's like sand, it's just something the earth produces that people invent useful ways of using."  
Gaara nodded, seemingly understanding everything I said. "I see... nextime you throw snow at Kankuro I won't cover for you." He smirked at me.  
"Understood." I saluted.  
Realizing that our 4 team-mates were now almost out of sight I hurridly grabbed Gaara's hand and took off down the icy-path trying not to slip and die along the way.

It didn't take us long to catch up to them.  
While Daisuke was running away from me, he slipped on a patch of ice that was hidden under a thin blanket of snow and as he fell he somehow managed to take Komachi and Kankuro down with him. They were all laying in a tangled heap when we finally caught up.  
"Are we missing something?" I asked, acting suspicious at the human ball of yarn that lay in front of us.  
Kankuro, who was originally pinned underneath Daisuke's leg, stood up, and held his hand out to help Komachi up. As soon as she stood up however, Daisuke stumbled on the same patch of ice and pulled her back down again.  
"Argh Daisuke you idiot!" She screamed in frustration, smacking him over the head.  
Kankuro reached down and pulled her up once again, but this time he pulled her away from the ice and away from Daisuke's grasp.  
"Oh man... can someone give me a hand?" He asked, grinning sheepishly, still struggling to stand up.  
Temari offered her hand which he gladly accepted.  
"Thanks babe." He winked at her causing her face to turn as red as Gaara's hair.  
She covered her face with her hands. "Ohh it-it was nothing..." and then turned away to hide her blush.  
Temari had the hots for Daisuke, it was more than obvious.  
To everybody but Daisuke.. in his eyes, all the ladies wanted him.  
"How much farther?" Komachi asked, wrapping her arms around herself, shivering like crazy. Komachi has spent her whole life in Sunagakure so she's never experienced cold like this before, except for on desert nights anyways. But the Land of Snow was so cold it made a night in the desert seem like a tropical paradise.  
"Shouldn't be too much farther now." I explained, looking at the map. "By the looks of things we just passed these... square-shaped boulders, and we walked through the forest that consists of three identical trees about an hour ago. It should be about an hour, maybe closer to two before we reach the apparently giant village.."

Everybody was looking at me like this.. O_O, except for Gaara he looked like this.. -.-

"What...?" I whined, showing everybody the map. "This map looks like it was drawn by a 6 year old ! I was just explaining it like I saw it, okay?"  
It was true. The only map showing the way to the Land of Snow from Sunagakure looked like it was drawn by somebody still in pre-school. The trees were just green triangles, all rocks, boulders, mountains or cliffs were rectangles or squares and for some reason the village we were looking for was seven times bigger than all of Sunagakure itself.  
"Well then..." Kankuro cleared his throat. "Map-dissing aside. Is there anyway we can, you know, speed things up a bit? Komachi is freezing and.. well, I'm worried." We were all staring at him. "She's my team-mate that's all!"  
His face was bright red as he was saying this, and I was sure it wasn't from the cold.  
'Ooooohhhhh Kankuro and Komachi~' I sang in my head. 'and.. Daisuke and Temari. Things could get interesting...'

Poor Komachi looked very cold, and she was starting to sneeze a lot. She was catching a cold already.  
Temari, Komachi and Kankuro took off ahead on Temari's fan, to save poor Komachi from certain doom, they said they would meet us there. Gaara, Daisuke and I continued walking. We were the least tired and the least cold, so we had no problem.  
"So, Gaara.." I asked, trying to make conversation. "What's this, 'urgent news' anyways?" I asked him.  
"Well..." He began. "Apparently, this village isn't the 'main village' of the Land of Snow, it's just a small one located in the center of it all. The note said that there was a gang of ninja's from Otogakure that have set up camp a few miles North of their village, and have been killing off their ninja's one by one." He paused.  
"That's terrible!" I exclaimed, and I really meant it! Why would Otogakure send ninja's to attack a harmless snow village for no reason?  
Gaara nodded. "Yeah, it seems the only ninja's they had to begin with were a few Genin, and a couple Jonin. They aren't a big village, and they apparently practice the ways of the old. They asked Yukigakure for assistance but they refuse to get involved, even though they are neighbouring villages."  
I looked ahead, Daisuke was calmly strutting, literally strutting, ahead of us with his hands behind his head talking to himself. I decided to tune him out and ignore him completely, I really didn't wanna know what sort of conversation Daisuke had with himself.  
"What do they want us to do?" I asked.  
"They need assistance. Somebody to defend their village and possibly take-out or scare-off the Otogakura ninja's that are terrorizing their village. Like I mentioned, they still practice the ways of the old. Their not as advanced as we are."  
I nodded. "Sounds like a good reason to need assistance.. The mission itself seems easy enough. I never liked those Sound ninja's anyways."  
It was true, they were very rude to me during the Chunin exams and on top of that they tried to take out Konoha and the people that I loved!  
This was what I was telling myself anyways.  
My real reason was..  
I was hoping Sasuke was with them.  
I wanted nothing more than to see the look on his face when I beat him into a bloody mess..

"Oh this village is so beautiful!" I yelled upon entering the village. It was very beautiful, everything was shiny and the sun made it all sparkle! Dozens of animal-skin huts were scattered acrossed the ground, with smile billowing out of the tops of every one of them.  
I learned later that this village is simply named "Kori", which means "ice" because almost everything in the village was covered in a thin, sparkling sheet of ice.  
The village was sort of, frozen in time. Everybody lived in huts made out of animal skin, and they wore parka's and coats made out of animal-fur Their hair was long and braided, the girls wore shells and beads through their hair while the men wore bones and beads matching those of their wives. There was little to no technology in this village, everybody hunted or grew their own food.  
The ninja's didn't use metal kunai or swords like we did, instead they used bone-tipped spears and throwing knives made out of arrow-heads, or sharpened bones or rocks. Nobody knew if they used jutsu or not.  
"It is.. different." Gaara said, his eyes sweeping the village.  
Almost as soon as we entered the village, a large group of people gathered around us and began whispering amongst themselves. As we walked through the village towards the Chief's hut, I overheard a few of their whispers.  
"Do you see that? That's the Kazekage of Sunagakure!"  
"He's so handsome.. who is she?"  
"I hear she's his wife."  
"She's gorgeous.."  
"The guy in the front looks a bit strange.. are they sure they're ninja's?"  
"I don't think any of the are capable of helping us."  
"Isn't he some sort of demon?"  
I frowned. These people were being very rude to people they don't even know. What sort of rumours were they spreading anyways? And how did people all the way out here hear of Gaara apparently being some sort of demon?  
If I wasn't a guest in their village I would have had the worlds biggest hissy-fit!  
I was too busy gawking at the rude villages to pay attention to where we were going, and I ended up colliding face-first into Gaara's back.  
"We're here." He stated, ignoring the imprint my nose just made in his spine.  
We stood outside of a huge tent, that could easily fit everybody in the village and then some. It was made of various animal fur's, and wood all sewn together. Surprisingly, it looked rather cozy.  
"I will go inside and talk to the chief. I want you to find out where Daisuke wandered off to, and then find my siblings and Komachi." Gaara told me.  
I nodded. "Will do!"  
Gaara began to lean closer to me, he seemed very hesitant. I was confused at first, but once I saw the look in his eyes I knew exactly what he wanted.  
I stood on my tip-toes and gladly me him halfway.  
Our lips were chapped and frozen but the kiss melted it all away.

It didn't take me long to find Daisuke.  
As soon as Gaara entered the hut I heard a shrill scream followed by a "PERVERT!"  
Then the sound of fist colliding with face was heard from not very far away.  
"Oh boy here we go.." I began jogging after the sound.  
Sure enough, just a little distance away behind a bear-skin hut was Daisuke holding a pile of snow to a swollen cheek and two girls glaring daggers into his skull.  
"Really Daisuke?" I shook my head. "Can't we take you anywheres without you trying to sleep with all the local women?"  
Daisuke gave me a sheepish grin. "I figured.. I'd give it a shot." He said embarassed.  
I turned towards the women. "I'm very sorry." I said giving them a bow. "My friend is... a total idiot. Please forgive us."  
The women laughed at me and then nodded towards me.  
One spoke up. "It is okay. We tried to tell him that we were both betrothed but.. he did not listen it seems."  
They were very polite, and spoke using a Japanese dialect that I never heard before. It seemed even the way they spoke was old-fashioned.  
This place was cute.  
I smiled and gave them a quick nod before grabbing Daisuke by the hood of his jacket and dragging him, literally, towards Temari, Komachi and Kankuro's chakra.  
It turns out that the chief had special huts built for guests who stayed in the village, and he had reserved them just for us.  
Komachi and Temari were in one hut, trying to get warm by the fire while Kankuro was huddled up in the corner of a second hut.  
"They won't let me cuddle for warmth..." He whined.  
"Daisuke's hormones are raging. Cuddle up to him." I suggested, pushing the perverted maniac into the hut with Kankuro.  
Kankuro looked deep in thought, as if he were actually thinking about cuddling with Daisuke.  
"No way man!" Daisuke shook his hands in front of his face. "Please no dude, I don't cuddle with dudes."  
When Kankuro got up and practically leaped at Daisuke I decided it was best for me to leave and find my own hut.  
It was huge! A large fire burned in the center of the hut, and rugs made out of various animal fur's were spread out around the fire. Some pillows and jackets were spread out here and there, and Gaara's gourd sat in the corner waiting for battle.  
"What a.. cool place this is." I said in surprise.  
I heard footsteps coming towards me and I didn't bother to turn around, expecting it to be Temari or Komachi.  
"Excuse me..." I felt a tug on my pants. I looked down to see a small girl with long braided hair and a silver fur jacket tugging on my pant leg. "The Kazekage, wants you and the ones who are named Kankuro, Temari, Daisuke and Komachi to come with me to our Chief's hut!"  
I smiled at her. "Alright but you have to lead the way!"

It took me a while to get everybody together. Temari and Konachi were reluctant to leave the warmth of their tent, but when I assured them that the Cheif's tent had a bigger fire they were up and ready within minutes.  
When I entered the boys tent, they were cuddled up by the fire.  
I seriously wanted to vomit...  
After an embarassing and awkard encounter, the boys quickly got ready and we all set out towards the Chief's tent.  
When we got there, a huge crowd was gathered inside.  
The man, who I assumed was the Chief, sat at the very back of the hut. Gaara sat to his right, and beside Gaara was 5 empty mats which were reserved for us. On the opposite side, sat various older men and women, probably the elders of the village, and along the edges of the tent sat children, adults and teens of various sizes.  
"Come, Ninja of Sand." The Chief's loud booming voice echoed throughout the tent. "Join us!"  
We all nodded, awkardly walked over to take our seats. I sat beside Gaara of course, Komachi sat beside me then Kankuro sat beside her. Temari and Daisuke sat on the end.  
"We will now start with the traditional dress!"  
On cue, the adults who sat along the walls got up and began to undress us, literally! The ripped off all our jackets, boots, socks, you name it! The boys were left in their boxers while us girls were in our bra's and panties. It wouldn't be as awkward if three of the now half-naked teens weren't siblings.  
'How is this traditional dress?' I asked myself, folding my arms overmy chest to cover myself more. All I really did was push my boobs up, causing Gaara and an old man sitting acrossed me to become transfixed on my cleavage.  
Feeling completely violated I uncrossed my arms and began to play with the hem of my mat.  
I nervously scanned the room.  
Everybody's outside-wear was piled up by the entrance to the hut, I was so focused on getting to my seat and vanishing from everybodys sight I didn't even notice!  
All the villagere sat in their bra's, boxers, or just simple loin cloths or scratchy dresses.  
The Chief remained silent, but slowly raised his hand up and then gently lowed it back to his lap. This must have been some sort of sign because afterwards, all the chidren stood up and rushed over to us.  
The girls braided mine and Komachi's hair and then strung it with beads of various colours and shapes. Temari's hair was too short to pull off a successful braid, so they just stuck feathers in her hair.  
"Your hair shall be the most beautiful!" A little girl named Mami told me while putting beads into my hair.  
"Howcome?" I asked her with a smile, trying not to shiver as her cold hands brushed up against my nec.  
"Every bead has a meaning." She explained. "You will wear beads of brown, silver, and red."  
"What do those colours mean?" I asked her, fingering one of my braids.  
"Brown symbolizes virginity."  
When she said this I almost choked on my own air.  
"Silver means that you are taken, no longer single."  
This one was better.  
"And red means that you are in love."  
I smiled. I guess these beads weren't so bad.  
"Your husband wears the same beads." She told me.  
"My.. husband?" I questioned Mami. I didn't know I had a husband...  
She gestured towards to the right with her head and I turned to see Gaara, with a short string of brown, silver and red beads strung through the fringes on his left side. My beads were also on my left side, and followed the same pattern and colour scheme as Gaara's.  
He didn't notice that Mami and I were staring at him, he was engaged in a conversation with the little boy who was now painting symbols on his back. He was telling him stories of hardships he faced as a ninja. The little boy seemed completely thrilled listening to Gaara's stories.  
I couldn't help but smile, Gaara took quite the liking to this boy.

After our hair was braided and full of beads, and the boys were all painted up, some of the younger villagers brought in the feast!  
It was a huge feast of fire-roasted moose meat, bear meat and rabbit, as well as some raw fish, and smoked fish. There were cranberries, dried fruit and nuts and some garden-grown vegetables.  
We were all astonished, but I was more confused. How did the grow vegetables and berries in the winter?  
When I asked Mami, she laughed like I just told the funniest joke ever.  
"We always have ice here." She told me. "But we have some huts just for gardens."  
I raised an eyebrow. She laughed some more and then continued.  
"See... there are two large huts beside this one. They are our "Garden huts." We built a fire that melted all the snow and ice inside the hut, and we grow vegetables inside the dirt. We trade with villages all over! We get seeds from villages in the Fire nation, we get dried fruit and wine from the Wind nation, and the Land of Water gives us sugar cane and beans."  
I nodded, taking in everything Mami was telling me. Their way of life was so different from our own, could we survive living like this I wonder?  
"So, what do you give them?" I asked, taking a drink of my water, that was collected from an ice-cold natural spring located just outside the village.  
"Animal fur, and fresh meat. The village of Kori makes the best cloth out of animal fur in the entire world! Did you know that?!" Mami asked me, flashing me a huge grin.  
"No.. I didn't!" I answered, giving her a grin just as wide as her own.

The rest of the night was spent sharing stories and singing songs. Some people even got up and danced for us!  
It was great night full of smiles, laughter and celebrating.  
Mami explained to me that this was her village's way of welcoming guests to the village. The most important the guest was, the bigger the celebration was.  
And apparently we got the greatest celebration this village had to offer!  
It was an amazing night, nobody stopped smiling not even for a minute.  
Even Gaara had a permanent grin plastered on his face.

After the celebration was over, we all put our winter clothes back on and hurried back to our huts. A storm broke out sometime during all our laughs and singing and we didn't notice until we stepped outside of the Chief's hut and were smacked in the face with snow blowing 200km an hour.  
Gaara and I shared one hut, while Temari and Komachi shared another, and Kankuro and Daisuke slept in one together.  
As soon as Gaara and I entered our hut, we both began to strip ort clothes off. They were completely soaked, and we were freezing!  
We hung them on a hand-made wooden rack over the fire to dry out, while we curled up on a surprisingly comfortable bed. The Chief had traded with the Land of Iron some time ago and ended up with some normal blankets and pillows. When he heard we were coming to help he set them up inside of out huts for us to have a more comfortable sleep.  
Gaara and I lay underneath of a cotton blanket, I had my head resting on his chest while one of Gaara's arms held me close to his body. Our free hands were laced together, draped acrossed Gaara's stomach.  
We were both freezing from the cold of the storm, and this was the quckest, fastest and most fun way to warm up in the middle of winter.  
"What did the Chief say?" I asked Gaara, remembering that I never found out what they talked about today.  
Gaara shifted a little, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.  
"I told him that we would take care of the ninja." He explained. "I told him if we took care of them.. he had to let me build.. a snowman."  
I looked up at Gaara. "A... snowman?" I repeated.  
He nodded. "A snowman sounds nice. I want to build one.. the Chief said if we got rid of the Sound ninja, he would keep my snowman up forever and never let anyone touch it. So when I'm older..." He paused, and turned towards me. Gaara had a certain, warmth in his eyes I've never seen him have before.  
"So that when we're older.. our kids can come here, and see the snowman that their father built. And perhaps they can build one as well."  
I was shocked, completely shocked!  
Is Gaara talking about us having kids? In the future?!  
"Our.. kids?" I repeated.  
"I want to have a child someday. I want you to be the mother, nobody else.. just you. And I want him to have a happy, pain-free childhood. Something I never had..."  
"Gaara..." I reached up and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. I was at loss for words.  
"The little boy I talked with today made me very happy. He smiled brightly, and played with the other children without a care in the world. That was something I couldn't do. I want our son to grow up happy, like that little boy.."  
"I.. I'd like that." I told him with a smile.  
His eyes lit up, and he gave me the most beautiful smile in the world.  
"I love you." He told me, leaning in and stealing a kiss.  
"I love you too." I told him once we broke the kiss.

Everybody in the village of Kori slept peacefully that night.  
They all felt safe knowing that six powerful ninja's slept just a few feet away from them, and for the first time in months they did not fear the attack of the Sound Ninja.  
But when morning came, nobody was happy anymore, and nobody felt safe.  
The village's alarm had went off sometime during the night, and the howling of the storm prevented anyone from hearing it.

***Sorry for the delay in updating! I was super sick.. T_T This chapter wasn't very good... But I hope you still enjoyed!  
P.S: Does anybody want me to write a "Rated M" chapter? If you get what I'm saying... Message me with your thoughts please! :)**


	31. Chapter 31: The End of Mayu's Story

Have you ever tried to move around in a snowstorm before?  
Well let me tell you, it is** not** fun!  
First: There's the cold.  
You're literally freezing the moment you exit your nice, cozy warm hut.  
Then: There's the fact that you can't even see your hand in front of your face let alone anybody else.  
And last: The inability to move fast.

Gaara and I got a few feet away from our huts when he vanished in a thick blanket of blowing snow.  
I turned around, and the glow of the huts vanished as well.  
The snow had blinded me, I couldn't see anything.

"Gaara!" I yelled out into the raging storm.  
The only reply I recieved was the fierce howling of the blowing snow and a sharp pain to the right side of my face. I looked down just in time to see tiny droplets of blood fall into the snow before they faded to white in the snow.  
'What's going on?!' I thought to myself, starting to panic. 'I can't sense anybody, or hear anybody let alone see anybody..'  
Temari, Kankuro and Komachi were hot on our heels just minutes ago, and now there's nobody in sight.  
Where did everybody go?

I was finding it harder and harder to move with each passing second, the strain from trying to run through thick snow was starting to irritate my leg.  
I had to force myself down to a slow walk.  
The howling of the snow storm had droned out the sound of the town's alarm and my hearing was slowly fading into a sharp ringing noise.  
'This doesn't make sense.' I thought, trudging through the thick snow, searching for a sign of life. 'This village was so full of life just hours ago, why can I suddenly not find anybody?'  
I couldn't even sense anyone's chakra, it was as if the snow had somehow blocked out all of my senses.  
Fear began to take over. All I wanted right now as to be back inside my nice cozy hut, cuddled up to Gaara..  
"Gotta get out of this storm..." My frozen lips murmered. I couldn't even hear myself speak, all I could hear was a high pitched ringing sound in my left ear.  
I stumbled foward a few steps.  
This was all happening so fast, so.. suddenly!  
One minute I'm curled up next to a fire with Gaara, then the alarm goes off and the village is flooded in panic.  
Now I'm lost in a snowstorm.  
I could feel my body losing energy fast!  
Suddenly I felt myself being thrown acrossed the ground by a strong force.

Flying a few feet to the right I landed in the snow, becoming burried within seconds. My whole face stung, as if a thousand tiny needles were piercing my flesh.  
Struggling to get up I felt pressure on my frozen face and then I was picked up and tossed again, my barely audible scream filled the air.  
My body was numb, even the pain I had once felt diminished into a sharp tingle.  
I had no idea what was going on.  
The last thing I remember before blacking out was being lifted into the air and the taste of my own blood.


	32. Chapter 32: Gaara's Story Begins

Mayu has been missing for three days.  
I was worried sick.  
As soon as we left the hut back in Kori, Mayu vanished from my sight and I knew then that something was wrong.

_"Mayu?!" I yelled out into the darkness.  
I recieved no reply.  
"Gaara, what's going on?" My brother trotted up beside me, Temari and Komachi right behind them.  
"Where's Daisuke?" I asked, realizing they were one man short.  
"He took off towards a group of villagers to ask them what was going on." Temari explained for me. "Where's Mayu?"  
"I..." I paused. "I don't know."  
"What do you mean you don't know?!" Kankuro yelled at me.  
My heart felt heavy, and a feeling was forming in the pit of my stomach. One that I couldn't quite make out..  
"She just.. vanished as soon as we left the hut." I explained.  
It sucked being out here, my face was slowly losing it's feeling but I didn't wanna let it show.  
Right now, the village's alarm was blasting in my ears and everybody was in a panic.  
"How can somebody just.. vanish?!" Komachi yelled, I could tell they were growing angry with me.  
I opened my mouth to speak but a dark figure limping out of the village  
It was Mayu!_

_ "Mayu!" I yelled, running as fast as my legs would take me.  
No matter how fast I ran, I wasn't getting any closer to her.  
"Mayu wait!" I yelled again, but again no luck.  
Suddenly the storm picked up and I had to stop moving, the wind was so strong, the cold was so fierce.  
'What is going on?!' I thought angrily. 'This is no ordinary snow storm...'  
A loud laugh ran out through the night, and a tall, dark figure appeared in front of me.  
"Who's there?" I yelled, my frozen lips barely moving.  
"Gaara... is it?" The person spoke, they were obviously male.  
"Get out of my way!" I yelled. I tried to manipulate my sand but it was no use, my head began to hurt and my energy began to drain faster than ever before.  
My sand was frozen, I was vulnerable.  
"I'm sorry to say this but your journey ends here.." The man spoke bitterly. "Your girlfriend has taken out too many of our comrades. She must be eliminated if our plans are to succeed. Hope you understand."  
He said the last part with a laugh.  
"Leave her alone!" I tried to yell but my voice was completely inaudible. The howling of the snow storm had droned out all sounds.  
I tried to run forward but I was knocked backwards into the snow.  
When I sat up, the storm had stopped.  
Not even a single snow flake was falling.  
And I couldn't see Mayu anywheres._

I shook my head to releave myself of that terrible memory.  
We weren't permitted to stay in Kori for long to search for Mayu. Infact, the very next morning we were kicked off of the land.  
Daisuke found a young man from Kori in the forest and attacked him, tying him up and yelling threats in his face. It didn't take long until we found out what we needed to know.  
It turns out that the "warm welcome" we recieved was just a cover-up.  
There was no "Otogakure ninja" attacking Kori and killing off their ninja. As far as we knew, Kori had no ninja..  
The whole "distress call to Sunagakure" was one big lie, to trick us into traveling all the way there so they could ambush us and take out Mayu.  
Apparently the Akatsuki had offered Kori a large sum of money and a promise to "never attack their live stock again." if they agreed to their plan.  
If I wasn't the Kazekage of Sunagakure, I probably would have flooded the whole village with sand...  
I had every single Sunagakure genin, chunin, jounin and ANBU scattered all around the land surrounding Kori, including the mountains, forests and lakes but so far none have found anything useful. I had contacted nearby villages that we have an alliance with, searching for any clues as to where the Akatsuki are hiding, but so far no luck.  
I even searched the place where Deidara brought me so the could extract Shukaku, searching for a sigh, or maybe a stray Akatsuki lurking about.  
Nothing there either.

I am so worried.. all that I can think about is Mayu.  
I can't sleep, I barely eat, all I do is search, pray and hope...

"Gaara!"  
I looked up from the most recent report I was scanning over. It was Komachi.  
"I bring you.. no news..." she spoke sadly, lowering her head. Even through her ANBU mask I could see that she was in pain.  
Komachi was the temporary ANBU captain in Mayu's absence. She had every single ANBU member out there looking for her, leaving no leaf unturned, and no crack unsearched.  
"Sir..." she began. "May I suggest... requesting assistance from Konoha?"  
"You wish me to... ask for help?" I repeated, raising one of my invisible eyebrows.  
Komachi nodded. "Yes sir. If I do recall... Konohagakure has had far more encounters with the Akatsuki than any of our ninja have. If anyone knows how to track down an Akatsuki, it's them. Besides... the more ninja we have out there the more land we're covering, and the more land we cover... the better chances we have of finding her."  
I rubbed a hand through my hair. As much as I hated the idea of asking for help, her words did make sense..  
"Very well. I understand." I took in a deep breath. "Go out and find the fastest courier ninja we have and send him in here at once."  
Komachi nodded and then vanished with a poof of smoke.  
Sighing angrily to myself I pulled out a blank scroll and dipped my brush in ink. 'I have never asked for help before...' I thought nervously to myself. 'This is so unlike me.'  
I sprawled my message for help on the scroll, making sure I didn't sound too desperate, but making sure I added Mayu's name into the message. All of the Konoha ninja were close to Mayu, I knew that if I mentioned that she was in danger, they would be more eager to assist...

**_"Dear Hokage,_**  
**_ My sincerest apologize for messaging you on such short notice, but we, the ninja of Sunagakure as well as myself the Fifth Kazekage are in need of immediate assistance._**  
**_ We were lured into a trap set by the Akatsuki three days ago, and as a result Sunagakure's ANBU Captain Mayu Nakamura has gone missing in the Land of Snow region and is pressumed to be kidnapped by the Akatsuki._**  
**_Time is running out, we are in need of assistance, and you are our only trusted ally._**  
**_Please send a reply A.S.A.P_**  
**_ Many thanks,_**  
**_Gaara- the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure."_**

I frowned. 'This will have to suffice...'  
Once the ink on the scroll was dry I rolled it up just in time for the courier ninja to burst through my doors.  
"Kazekage-sama! You need my help?" He asked, giving me a salute.  
I nodded, handing him the scroll. "This needs to get to the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure as soon as possible. It is very urgent. Please make haste."  
The ninja nodded, accepting the scroll and running off in one quick flash.  
As soon as the door shut with a quite "click" I laid my head on the desk, burrying it in my arms.  
I've had little to no sleep these past three days, and fatigue was starting to set in. I couldn't concentrate, I felt sick to my stomach and a throbbing headache was starting to form in the left side of my head.  
"Mayu..." I whispered to myself, feeling my eyes become watery. "Where are you?"  
The door to my office opened, but I didn't bother lifting my head. I just wanted to be alone right now, the only person I wanted to see was Mayu.  
"Kazekage-sama?" The voice called.  
I groaned. "May I help you Matsuri?" I hissed, not lifting my head to look at the bothersome woman.  
"I was just wondering..." She paused, and took a deep breath. "If you.. needed anything? Maybe, someone to keep you company?" She asked, her voice was sickenly sweet.  
Matsuri was over-joyed to learn that Mayu had vanished. Infact, she was the only person to smile at the news. Everybody in Sunagakure adored Mayu, even Matsuri's closest friends enjoyed her company.  
Matsuri had began annoying me as soon as we stepped foot on Sunagakure land, and I could tell she wasn't going to give up until I either found Mayu or killed her myself.  
And I knew the second option would be highly frowned upon by my villagers.  
"I am fine Matsuri." I said, trying not to sound to bitter. As much as the woman made me want to shove 12" nail into my eye sockets, I had to remain calm and polite at all times. The Kazekage lashing out at a mere genin would look bad in everybody's eyes.  
"Are you sure?" She asked, her footsteps coming closer to my desk. "I can help you.."  
I didn't bother lifting my head to look at her, I was hoping that if I ignored her long enough she would leave my alone.  
But apparently she had no intentions of leaving.  
I felt two small hands on my shoulders causing me to tense up, her bony fingers began to knead my back, causing me to cringe.  
Back massages were one of my stronger weaknesses..  
Mayu has given my back massages plenty of times, and while hers made me feel calm and relaxed as they worked out the knots in my back, Matsuri's made me feel like I was being beated with a meat tenderizer, and had actually managed to make my back hurt even more.  
"Matsuri that is enough." I spoke harshly, sitting up straight causing her hands to fall to her sides. "Can't you see that I am not in the mood for idol banter? Please leave..."  
My sand opened the door for her to exit, and she looked at me with very sad eyes.  
And as much as I wanted to apologize to her for acting to cruel, I knew deep down that I had to hold my ground.  
I knew that Mayu hates this woman with a fierce passion, and with good reason.  
Matsuri needed to learn that I am Mayu's and noone elses.

Matsuri hung her head low after realizing that I wasn't going to give her an apology, or ask her to stay, and slowly walked towards the door.  
When I heard the door click once again I burried my face in my hands, enjoying the silence once more.  
"What do I do?" I mumbled. "Why do I feel so... helpless? So weak?"  
I had not realized that Kori's letter of distress was false, and I had failed to protect Mayu, my most precious person.  
Now she could be lost out there, terrified, injured, or worse...  
I shook my head. I can't think like that! Mayu is a strong woman, she'll survive.  
She'll come back to me..  
As much as I wanted to stay awake, to await the courier ninja's return with my reply, fatigue and exhaustion began to take hold over my body.  
My eyes grew heavy, and I found myself lowering my head to the pile of papers scattered all over my desk.  
'Perhaps a nap won't hurt...' I convinced myself, shutting my eyes. 'I need my strength.. to... search for.. Mayu.'  
Before I fell asleep, I felt warm liquid slip from in between my eyelids and roll down my nose onto my desk with an almost inaudible 'splat.'  
This was the first time I had truly cried in almost 13 years, besides the time that Kankuro had made me chop onions for his curry and the strong juices has caused me to cry for hours afterwards.

While laying here in my office with my head on my desk, silently crying, I couldn't help but feel useless.  
Like I had failed the one person that mattered the most in my life.  
I felt completely weak.  
My entire life, all that I've ever thought about was how strong I was, how the people I cared about would never be harmed as long as I was alive.  
I felt invinsible, untouchable, like nobody could ever bring me down.  
But now I realize that nobody is invinsible, and that everybody has a weakness.

My weakness was obvious...


	33. Chapter 33: Eavesdropping

***I've changed the "summary" of my story, the old one sucked. Let me know what you all think of the new one! Also, reviews people I need reviews! How am I supposed to know what you do or don't like about my story if you don't give me reviews! x3  
Thanks to NarutoLuver0002 for the encouragement and support.**

"Sir, the ninja from Konohagakure have arrived."  
I lifted my head from my desk, wiping the drool from the corners of my mouth before anybody saw.  
"The.. Konoha.. ninja?" I repeated, blinking furiously trying to wake myself up.  
The Jonin nodded. "Yes. There's... four of them. They recieved your letter less than an hour ago and are here to see you."  
I practically leaped up from my seat.  
May the gods bless Tsunade, not only did she recieve my letter but she also immediately sent ninja's to my assistance.  
For the first time in three days I felt a smile creeping onto my face.  
"Understood. Please escort them to Komachi, Captain of the ANBU. Tell them I am going home to get ready and to find my siblings as well as Daisuke and to meet me in my office in exactly one hour. Make sure the Konohagakure ninja are given a proper meal, drink and a place to rest under my order."  
The Jonin bowed and then ran off to deliver my orders.  
Using a jutsu I quickly teleported to my mansion, where I would quickly, bath, change, and then have a quick lunch before meeting my new search team. Things were looking slightly brighter already.  
But only slightly...

When I arrived back at my office, I was more than happy at the team I found waiting for me.  
First I had Komachi and Daisuke. Mayu's two most loyal comrades as well as her two best friends.  
My siblings-Temari and Kankuro were there of course, I needed them with me at all times regardless of the mission.  
Then we had Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno, as well as their sensei Kakashi.  
Along with them came Kiba Inuzuka. His nose would prove useful in finding Mayu.  
"We heard Mayu's in danger..."Naruto said bitterly, clenching his fist. "We came as fast as we could!"  
Sakura smiled. "As soon as Lady Tsunade read the letter she called us in and sent us out immediately. We aren't entirely sure what's going on though... Mayu was kidnapped you say?"  
I nodded. "We have reason to believe that the Akatsuki have her."  
"How can you be so sure?" Kakashi asked me. He seemed unsure of our accusations, he has gone head-to-head with the Akatsuki more times than anybody else that I know.  
I took this time to fill them in on the events that happened while in Kori. From when Mayu vanished upon exiting the hut, to the Akatsuki member luring her out of town and informing me they have intentions on killing her.  
"What are we waiting for?!" Naruto yelled, jaw clenched, fists balled up. "I'm leaving right now. I will find her, I will bring her back and I will kill every one of them bastards!"  
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, hands on her hips. "You can't just go off on your own. We need to find some leads as to where they are."  
He didn't seem to like her answer, and honestly neither did I, but I knew that she was correct.  
Sakura has always gotten under my skin. I don't know if it was her constant bitching or her Sasuke obsession, or maybe both, that made me dislike her. But she was a powerful ninja and an even more powerful medic, and we needed her.  
"She is right." I said. "We have searched for days and so far... we have found nothing."  
The Inuzuka boy perked up. "Do you have any clothes of Mayu's? Preferably ones she wore recently."  
I nodded. "There's a pile of dirty laundry in her room... why?"  
Kiba's face broke into a wide grin. "Where are they?! I need to smell them..."  
My left eye began to twitch rapidly. I reached up to grab it with my hand in an attempt to stop it, just as Sakura and Naruto began to rapidly punch the Inuzuka boy.  
"Hey hey hey STOP IT!" He yelled, halting their fists. "I meant to smell so I can track her scent you morons! What do you think I am some kind of pervert?!"  
Everybody suddenly felt dumb.  
Even I felt stupid...

I went into Mayu's room to gather up her landry for Kiba.  
Opening her door and saw her vacant bed, the sheets were thrown about as if she recently climbed out of bed. It caused my body to grow quite heavy. She had left a cup of tea unfinished beside her bed, and it had grown cold. A couple dozen cat stuffed animals littered the floor.  
I really missed her.  
The sight of her empty bedroom was too much for my emotions to bear so I quickly grabbed the pile of laundry she had carelessly shoved behind her door, and shoved it into a plastic bag.  
Taking one last look over my shoulder at the lonely room, feeling tears start to form in my eyes once again I slowly shut the door.  
It would remain shut until we found Mayu.  
I wasn't used to crying, and I refused to let anybody see my tears either.  
I had to keep a strong face for everybody's sake.  
'I just pray these clothes are enough to find Mayu...'

We packed basic supplies for the journey, and set of as soon as possible.  
Matsuri and her group of friends tried to persuade me to let them tag along but I refused. My excuse was "It's too dangerous for genin." but in reality I just didn't want to deal with her right now.  
"There's quite a few Akatsuki hideouts around Konoha and a few in the Land of Wind." Kakashi explained, rolling out a map. "We should split up, and cover more ground. We'll use eagles to communicate. We should seperate the teams according to skills."  
I nodded in agreement.  
"There is one a few miles to the South-West of here." Kakashi said, gesturing towards a forest not very far from Sunagakure. "Sakura, Kiba and I should take that one. Because It's located in a large, dense forest, and Itachi Uchiha has been spotted in that area, we'll need Kiba's nose, Sakura's medical skills and my Sharingan.  
"There is another hideout, one that's sprung up just recently to the South-west of Konoha, and just North-east of Sunagakure. Naruto, Gaara and Komachi will go to that one. This one has the most Akatsuki activity so it only makes sense to send the three strongest there.  
The final Akatsuki hideout is on a small island between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, to the west of Konoha. Kankuro, Temari and Daisuke will see to that one. We'll need long-range combatants as well as Daisuke's expert Genjutsu abilities, as I've heard rumours that Sasori the Puppet Master and Deidara reside there." Kakashi told us, heading us each a map and some blank scrolls.  
"If you find Mayu, or anything else interesting write it on a scroll and send it with an eagle. If one of your team-mates dies or becomes critically injured, abandon the mission immediately. Once you're safe from harm, give a status report with your eagle as well as your coordinates and we'll come find you." I said, slipping the map and scrolls into my weapons pouch.  
Everybody nodded.  
"It's settled then.." Naruto said. The Fox-demon's chakra was stirring fiercely inside of him. "Let's go get Mayu!"

The hideout we were sent to investigate was located almost directly between the Wind and Fire nations. It would take us close to two days to get there.  
We ran for close to 6 hours before we needed to stop. Komachi looked like she was about to throw up from exhaustion, and her face was a very pale colour. She was being so quiet, we never would have noticed how ill she looked if I hadn't noticed her falling behind.  
Finding a nice cave behind a waterfall we set up camp there. Komachi used a fire jutsu to light us a fire, while Naruto attempted to catch fish. It really was a sad sight to see, the poor kid couldn't catch a fish to save his life let alone anyone elses.  
"Kazekage-sama?"  
I glanced over at Komachi. She was sitting beside the fire, and I could tell just by looking at her that she was struggling to keep her eyes open.  
"May I... take a short nap?" She asked, her voice faltering a bit.  
I nodded. "You may call me Gaara." I told her. She tried to smile but she was so tired, her face couldn't quite form one. Slowly she lay down, using her vest as a pillow and seemed to be out in seconds.  
My eyes narrowed. Something was wrong..  
Komachi's face was a deep red in colour, and her breathing was quite heavy. Now that I think back.. she didn't quite look herself before we left.  
Was she sick?  
'I can't believe her..' I thought to myself, walking over to the sleeping kunoichi. 'Coming out on a dangerous missoin while she's sick.'  
I pulled a blanket out of Naruto's travel pack, and draped it over her shoulders. 'Mayu and her are very close though... it only makes sense. I know if I were sick, I too would have come anyways.'  
"ARGH! You stupid fish!" Naruto's frustrated yells were heard over the loud rumble of the waterfall. "I will destroy you!"  
I sighed. "I should go help him before he finds a way to accidentally kill himself." I mumbled to myself, heading towards the caves entrance.  
"Gaara..." A soft voice called from behind me. "I'm... sorry I came... while.. sick."  
Without looking over my shoulder, I replied. "It's alright Komachi. We all would have done the same. Get your rest, please."  
I headed outside to assist Naruto, just in time to watch him to a full-body dive into the water, sending a large tidal wave towards me. I sent up a wall of sand to absorb the water, and it created a large thick blob of muck in the process.  
I rolled my eyes. "Naruto..." I said, as the blonde emerged from the river. He was now pretty much naked, with a kunai in his mouth and two in his hands. "You're not going to catch any fish that way." I told him 'matter-of-factly'  
"Oh yeah!" He yelled. "I'd like to see you try it!"  
I closed my eyes, focusing on the sand that lay at the bottom of the river. Movement could be felt close to the cave face and with one swift movement, my sand shot up trapping the fish in a caccoon of sand.  
Naruto's face looked like this. -O-'  
"I caught a fish." I said bluntly. "Wasn't that hard."

I kept this up for a few hours. I had caught about 5 large fish and 7 smaller ones, while Naruto had managed to catch one medium sized fish. He had caught it by pure accident, by tripping on a rock and landing on top of it crushing the poor thing beneath his weight.  
Komachi woke up about an hour ago and began to boil some water to cook the smaller fish in. Naruto had searched the forest and came back with some wild cranberries, a few carrots and a potato. They were too large to be wild vegetables, and I had a feeling he just raided somebody's garden, but I was too hungry to say anything.  
Komachi made a stew out of the smaller fish, and we grilled the large ones on skewers over the fire.  
As soon as the food was cooked we began to devour it. None of us had really eaten a lot today, and 6 hours of non-stop running can put quite a strain on the human body.  
Within minutes most of the food was gone, except for a small amount of soup and one whole untouched fish.  
We all sat around the fire in silence, each one of us lost in out own thoughts.  
'I wonder.. how far away are we?' I wondered, poking at the fire with a stick. 'I wonder how far away we are from Mayu...'  
All three of us were feeling quite heavy with sadness. Mayu was close to all of us, and the thought of us not knowing where she was or how she was doing.. was fightening.  
"So.." Komachi began, breaking the silence."What's the.. what's the plan?"  
I could tell she was getting worse, but I didn't want to put pressure on her just yet. If she got any worse however, I would have to send her back to Suna.  
"I'm not sure..." I admitted. "I guess we just.. search for the Akatsuki and try to find Mayu."  
I felt Naruto tense up beside me, I assumed it was just him getting all fiered up a the mere mention of the word "Akatsuki."  
But it turns out, that wasn't the case at all.  
"Looks like we don't have to find them... Naruto spoke through clenched teeth, pulling a kunai out of his holster  
Komachi and I both looked at him with raised eyebrows, or in my case raised invisible-eyebrows, and then followed his gaze to the world outside of our small cave.  
There, outside of the cave, was the blurry figure of two tall men dressed in long black cloaks.  
A pattern of red clouds was barely visible through the fast-falling water.  
"So.. Looks like they found us." I whispered, standing up. "Komachi, you stay in here. Naruto and I can handle them by ourselves. We'll yell if we need you.."  
Komachi shrunk back farther into the cave, still wrapped in her blanket.  
"Be careful..." She breathed.

"Do you think they noticed us?" I whispered, barely audible.  
Naruto shook his head. I could feel the anger radiating off of him like a furnace. "Not at all."  
We crept forward a bit. I was secretly glad that we had decided to hide our chakra when we arrived at this place, otherwise we would have been spotted by now.  
I started to focus on the sand at the bottom of the river, readying to strike them at any moment.  
"How do you think she did it?" I heard one of the men ask, causing both Naruto and I to freeze in our tracks.  
"I don't know man but.." His partner replied, bending down towards the river. "... all I know is that chick really put up a good fight. My bones still hurt from that beating she gave me."  
Naruto and I had stopped breathing, and began to strain our ears, trying to listen.  
"When Itachi told me to go kidnap her, I was confused. And I mean really, really confused! The great Itachi Uchiha doesn't usually waist his time on random girls, if you know what I mean." The first man began talking again. "I mean, when I had her trapped in my genjutsu, she seemed totally weak and useless, limping around in the snow shouting for her some dude named "Gaara." But then, once we get her halfway to camp, surprise! She attacks us! It would have been nice if Itachi had told us that she was the Captain of the Sunagakure ANBU Black Ops before she kicked our asses while being blindfolded."  
My breath caught in my throat. 'Mayu is alright... and she escaped!'  
"Where do you think she went?" The second man asked, as he began to shuffle around. It was hard to see what he was doing through all the water. "I mean, we were ordered to find her and bring her back. She could be anywheres by now! I hear she's pro at hiding her chakra too..."  
The first man sighed. "You're right... we might as well just go into hiding. There's no way we can find her now, and if we return home empty handed Itachi will kill us. Literally! The last I heard she took off towards Konoha, we could always try to get ahead of her and cut her off on the path, but she's been running now for almost two days now so we probably won't ever catch up to her!"  
"She's probably in Konoha by now. The second man said. "We might as well just give up and go home. Hopefully if we beg enough, Itachi will spare us."  
Naruto and I stayed perfectly still, listening to the footsteps of the two Akatsuki men. Once we were sure they were far enough away, we both collapsed onto the rocky cave floor.

"Did you hear that?" Naruto asked, his voice still in a whisper. "Mayu is alive! She's alright!"  
"And she's headed for Konoha.." Komachi added, crawling over beside us. "What do we do?"  
I closed my eyes. "Well.. if what they say is true, she should be almost to Konoha by now if not already there. I'll write a letter to Tsunade as well as the other two teams and send them off. Then, we'll spend the night here in the cave, taking turns watching over each other. Tomorrow morning, when we're all rested up, we'll start out again." I told them, leaning back.  
The floor of the cave was cold and wet, but it didn't bother me too much. It did irritate my sand armour though.  
Komachi and Naruto nodded.  
"I'll take first watch." Naruto volunteered. "Komachi is still sick and Gaara, you look a bit tired yourself. Don't worry I'll wake you up if I start to fall asleep."  
I nodded, not bothering to argue with him.  
Komachi and I went and took our places around the fire, while Naruto pulled our some blank scrolls and an ink pot and began to write the letters to Tsunade and the others.  
Komachi fell asleep within seconds of hitting her make-shift pillow, however I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander.  
'Mayu.. where are you?' I wondered, staring up at the cave's roof. It was surprisingly tall for being a waterfall cave, and the roof glittered as if it were littered with a hundred diamonds.  
'Wherever you are..' I thought, closing my eyes. 'I will find you.'

***This chapter sucked, I apologize... I was going to write a super-awesome fight scene but, I can't write fight scenes that well... T_T But I promise there will be one in the next chapter!**


	34. Chapter 34: Lost and Found

***Sorry for the late update.  
I don't have a spleen and as a result it seems I'm constantly sick x_X  
Anyways... this chapter sucks, more than likely, so please don't be too harsh!  
Please review and\or PM me!  
:)**

** NOTE:**

*Text that has nothing special done to it (No bold, italics or underline) mean that it's present day!

_*Text that is in italics means it's the past (Mayu is thinking about past events and that's what's being written.)_

* * *

'Where am I?' I thought, unable to open my eyes.  
My entire body hurt it felt like I had been hit over and over with a giant anvil. Even though my body was frozen from the cold and my nerves were completelty numb there still wasn't a spot on my body that didn't hurt.  
My leg felt like it was no longer attached to my body.  
Forcing my eyes open, the light shot through it like a needle causing me to wince in pain. After a few seconds I tried again. Once I had my eyes pried open, it took a few minutes for my vision to adjust.  
I was laying on a riverbank, with me lower half still submerged in the river.  
"What... happened?" I groaned, holding my head.  
The events of my past few days flooded back to me.

* * *

_ Two days ago I woke up to find myself being held captive by two of the worlds most stupidest ninja's._

_ "Ugh..." I groaned rolling over. "Why does my head hurt so much..." I breathed, my throat felt scratchy and dry like I just swallowed sand.  
Sand...  
I felt around. I was laying on grass.  
'Grass?'  
Then I remembered the events that took place in Kori; The snow storm, the alarm, losing Gaara and then blacking out.  
'If this is grass then...' My thoughts were interrupted by two fast approaching chakra sources.  
I rolled back over and remained still, slowing my breathing so they would think I was still asleep.  
"She's still asleep." A male voice said, dropping something with a loud 'thud.' Judging by the fowl smell that followed soon after, I guessed it was something or someone that was dead. I strained my stomach muscles trying not to gag.  
"I'm surprised someone can sleep that long. It's been over 24 hours since we nabbed her." A second voice said, throwing else on the ground with a thud. This time it smelled like rotten peaches and unwashed bodies.  
My poor stomach felt like I had just done a thousand crunches. It took everything I had not to vomit right now.  
"I wonder what Itachi wants with her." The first voice spoke, sitting down on the ground beside me. "I mean, what on earth does a guy like him want with a girl like her?"  
"Entertainment perhaps?" The second voice said with a laugh, as he began shuffling around with something.  
Just the mere sound of his name made my blood turn to ice.  
'Itachi's behind this...?' I thought, feeling a lump form in my throat.  
"It sure was nice of him to send us on this stupid mission." The first voice said, reaching over and playing with a strand of my hair. "She's not very heavy, but having to carry her from the Land of Snow all the way to the Land of Fire sure is bothersome."  
'I'm in the Land of Fire?'  
"I wonder... should we, y'know, have our way with her before she comes to? I bet she's still a virgin..." The guy said as he continued to play with a strand of my hair.  
'Time to stop playing dead, Mayu...'_

_ I reached up and grabbed his wrist, flipping him over my body with a strartled yell. I then leaped up in the air and came crashing down on his stomach with my knee.  
The sound that came from him indicated he was in a lot of pain.  
The second guy began charging at me, but I ducked just in time, sending him flying overtop of me with a loud thud.  
I ran towards the sound of his breathing and managed to land a few punches before the first guy got back up, grabbing my legs and pulling me down.  
Usually, somebody who's about to do a face-plant starts to panic and braces themself for the impact and the pain, but I remainded calm. Before I hit the ground I caught myself and swung my legs out of his grasp, swept them around my body like an attempt at breakdancing, knocking them both off their feets once more.  
Before they could get up I rapidly performed some handsigns, slamming my hands into the ground.  
'Earth Style! Terra Prison Jutsu!'  
I jumped out of the way just as the Earth began to shake violently, ripping off the blindfold to catch a glimpse of my enemies demise.  
Once my eyes adjusted, I saw two Akatsuki's wrapped up in roots and Earth, struggling to free themselves.  
I smirked.  
"I wasn't appointed the Captain of the ANBU Black ops for nothing boys." I said, removing my winter jacket and gloves to reveal my ANBU uniform.  
Both the Akatsuki guys stared at me wide eyed as I ran into the forest at top speed._

* * *

_ I ran for two days straight without food, water or rest. My energy was low, my chakra levels were moderate as I was saving most of it incase I ran into a fight._

_ Eventually my body told me I had to stop, so I did. I collapsed in exhaustion, trying to catch my breath.  
'I'm so weak..' I thought, unable to physically speak.  
I managed to crawl over to a tree and use it to help myself up, my legs shaking as I did so.  
'Nextime I decide to run for 48 hours...' I thought, spitting out a small pool of blood. 'I should at least drink..'  
My ears perked up at the sound of running water.  
'Is that.. a stream?!' I thought, staggering towards the sound.  
A short distance away I could hear a river, equipped with it's very own waterfall. My lungs and throat felt like I had just deep throated barbed wire.  
I pushed some bushes out of the way and worked my way through some trees, rushing towards the sound.  
When I had found it, my heart sank.  
There, in the river were the two Akatsuki moron's that I had left tangled up in Mother Earth two days ago._

_ "How do you think she did it?" I heard one of the men ask.  
"I don't know man but.." His partner replied, bending down towards the river. "... all I know is that chick really put up a good fight. My bones still hurt from that beating she gave me."  
I slowly crouched down low to avoid being spotted. My chakra was already hidden quite well, but I decided to put some extra effort into it just to be sure. I wash hiding behind some bushes, so I couldn't see them but I could still hear them.  
"When Itachi told me to go kidnap her, I was confused. And I mean really, really confused! The great Itachi Uchiha doesn't usually waist his time on random girls, if you know what I mean. When I had her trapped in my genjutsu, she seemed totally weak and useless, limping around in the snow shouting for her some dude named "Gaara." But then, once we get her halfway to camp, surprise! She attacks us! It would have been nice if Itachi had told us that she was the Captain of the Sunagakure ANBU Black Ops before she kicked our asses while being blindfolded."  
I couldn't help but smirk at their comment.  
"Where do you think she went?I mean, we were ordered to find her and bring her back. She could be anywheres by now! I hear she's pro at hiding her chakra too..."  
The first man sighed. "You're right... we might as well just go into hiding. There's no way we can find her now, and if we return home empty handed Itachi will kill us. Literally! The last I heard she took off towards Konoha, we could always try to get ahead of her and cut her off on the path, but she's been running now for almost two days now so we probably won't ever catch up to her!"  
"She's probably in Konoha by now. The second man said. "We might as well just give up and go home. Hopefully if we beg enough, Itachi will spare us."  
I made sure that I stayed perfectly still until they left, and even after they were long gone I waited. Once their chakra faded, I let out a sigh of relief and stood back up preparing to make a lung for that beautiful water.  
Before I could however, I heard voices coming from down where the Akatsuki still stood. They were hushed whispers, and they sent a serge of panic through my body.  
'Is it them?' I wondered, taking a few steps back. 'I should... play it safe.'  
I turned on my heel and ran off in the opposite direction. I was in no shape for another battle right now, even though those two morons are complete idiots. My knee was swollen and my leg was bothering me, on top of that I was dehydrated and hungry so I wouldn't have much energy to fight._

_ I retraced my steps back a bit, to where I saw flashes of red in the bushes. I was hoping they were berry bushes, even just a handfull could give me a small energy boost to keep me going.  
Luckily for me, I was correct! I had passed a few raspberry bushes. I must have inhaled every single berry I could get my hands on, even some of the bad berries I still ate. They probably tasted absolutely fowl but my taste buds didn't even notice, they were just happy to have some sort of nourishment.  
Once I had picked the bush clean I felt a million times better than I originally had.  
My eyelids began to grow heavy. My adrenaline had stopped pumping a few hours ago, and now fatigue and exhaustion were finally starting to catch up with me. Leaning against a giant oak tree I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to take over._

* * *

I pulled myself out of the water, the pain in my leg was now so intense I felt like I could vomit at any minute.  
It felt as if somebody grabbed my leg with a scorching hot pair of pliers and twisted with the strength of a thousand men.  
I looked over my shoulder to find the water was blood red where my legs were.  
'Oh god please no...' I breathed, forcing more strength to my arms and lifting myself out of the water.  
The pain that followed was so intense I let out a shrill scream and collapsed on the ground once more. Turning over I forced myself into a sitting position to get a better look at my leg. When I saw the damage, tears immediately began to fall.  
My knee was swollen worse than It's ever been in my entire life, and was a dark purple in colour. As for my leg...  
Well.  
Let's just put it this way.  
My leg from the knee down was bent in such an abnormal way, that I could no longer see my toes, but instead I got a wonderful view of my heel. I had to look away from the sight as soon as I noticed there was a bone protruding from the side of my leg.  
"You really don't wanna heal do you...?" I asked my now-once-again broken leg.  
The leg didn't reply.

Now as much as I'd love to tell you that I broke my leg once again by fighting a super strong ninja to the death, I unfortunatly can't.  
I broke my leg by jumping off a cliff.

* * *

_I was rudely awoken by somebody kicking me in the bad leg.  
After letting out a startled scream I got to look up to see who else but Itachi Uchiha.  
I leaped to my feet, as he jumped back.  
"Sleeping while on the run?" He stated emotionlessly, unsheathing a sword. I took a fighting stance.  
"What do you want with me?" I yelled, surveying my surroundings, looking for an escape route. As much as I'd love to smash him in the face right now I was still in no condition to fight.  
Itachi replied with a chuckle. "You've taken out too many of our men." That's not the first time somebody has told me that, and it seems like it won't be the last time either. "Which is shocking really. You're probably just as weak as my little brother."  
"Oh right." I said, taking a side step to the left. "Sasuke, he exists."  
Truthfully I had forgotten all about Sasuke. It's been so long since I've seen him let alone spoken to him, that I forgot he ever existed in this world.  
Itachi took a step forward. "I'm surprised you've forgotten about your first love so quick."  
I took another step to the side. "I never loved him. We were young and I was stupid. Anyways I assume you didn't lure us to Kori, kidnap me and stalk me through the woods just to talk about your brother and his existence."  
Itachi said nothing more after that, he just lunged at me with his sword ready._

_ When his sword pierced my flesh I turned into a 'poof.' and appeared behind him. Doing some quick handsigns I summoned about a hundred more Mayu clones before darting off into the woods, leaving Itachi to fend for himself.  
He must have had his sharingan in full-gear because he ran passed all my clones and quickly began following me.  
'Damn you Uchiha's and your damn sharingan's...' I thought, leaping from branch to branch. Deciding I needed to buy some more time I performed more handsigns and slammed my hands against a tree.  
"Gaia's Forest!" I yelled, before turning and continuing on my way.  
On cue the forest began to groan and all the trees in the area roared to life, reaching out towards Itachi with their limbs in an attempt to ensnare him or atleast slow him down. It seemed to be doing the trick; from behind me all I could hear was the roaring of the trees and Itachi's frustrated grunts.  
I could also, unfortunatly, hear the sound of a sword slashing through branches.  
'You can not out run me, Mayu.' A voice in my head echoed, causing me to pause momentarily. It was Itachi's voice!  
'You can not escape.'  
I shook my head. His genjutsu would have no affect on me, I won't let it!  
Ignoring the voice in my head I kept going, literally forcing myself to run faster. I could feel my body shutting down, I've had no drink, no food and no rest for almost three days now, and I was almost at my limits. But I couldn't let myself get beaten down this way, I had worked too hard and come too far to give up now!_

_ The roaring of the tree's ceased, and I turned to see Itachi catching up. He had a cut on his forehead, and a small trail of blood leaking down his face.  
He looked angry, his sharingan was burning a hole in my face.  
'Your little trick won't work.' Itachi's voice rang through my head once more, causing me to become quite dizzy. I stumbled on a branch and slipped off, my body crashing hard on the ground knocking the wind out of me.  
Itachi leaped down a few feet away.  
'You will fail...' His voice kept going in my head. 'Your friends will die, your precious cities will burn, and you will die here by my hand.'  
"Stop it.." I yelled through clenched teeth. I pulled myself up, holding my now throbbing head. "You can't mess with my head."  
Itachi smirked.  
Suddenly the sky grew dark, and the sunset turned the colour of red bathing the world in red. I shakily stood up, spinning around to get a better look at my surroundings.  
"You won't-" My breath caught in my throat. Itachi had vanished, and in his place was a dead body.  
It was the Gaara.  
"No..." I fell to my knees. "It's not real..." I tried to tell myself it wasn't real, that it was just genjutsu, but the more I looked at it the more real it seemed.  
Gaara looked up at me, his hand stretched out towards me. "Ma...yu..." He called blood dripping from his mouth. "How... could you.. let me die?"  
Tears began to fall uncontrollably. "Gaara I didn't... I did...I didn..." I couldn't even get the words out. This scene was horrific, like my very nightmares coming to life.  
Two more bodies stumbled out of the forest, they too were bathed in blood.  
"Komachi... Dai...Daisuke..." Daisuke had a knife through his chest as he fell to the ground and I watched in horror as Komachi's head slipped from her neck and fell to the ground, rolling towards my feet.  
I screamed as Komachi's severed head looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. "Mayu... why did you.. let us... die...?" She croaked.  
I stood up and screamed, covering my eyes. This was too much!  
"Stop it!" I yelled, backing away from everything. "This is not real! This is not real!"  
A loud, malicious laugh echoed off the trees and the sky and seemingly surrounded me. It made me feel like I was draped in a blanket of ice.  
'You have failed your friends.' The voice rang. 'They are all dead now. All because of you.'  
I shook my head. "No. No. No. No. No."  
I kept backing away from the scene, trying my hardest to ignore the voice that was forcing it's way into my mind. My feet kept backing away, until suddenly my foot fell through the air.  
Startled I turned away, the voice ceased in my head.  
I was standing on the edge of a cliff._

_ I turned around.  
The scene was growing worse, Temari, Kankuro, Naruto, Sakura, even Sasuke stumbled out of the woods. Each one had either a missing limb, a burned face or some sort of weapon shoved through their bodies.  
'See what you have done.' The voice continued. 'They're all dead.'  
'This is not real..' I squeezed my eyes shut. 'This is genjutsu. Itachi is just messing with my head...'  
I opened my eyes. The voice had stopped but the bodies were still there, all piled together in one bloody heap.  
'It will never stop.' Itachi's voice picked up again. 'I will keep you here until you die of insanity.'  
I took another step back, forgetting about the cliff's edge, my foot fell through the air once more. I stepped forward, and looked over the edge of the cliff. It was a very, very very long long way down. I could see a wide river at the bottom, but it was so far down it looked like it was no bigger than the width of a bandaid.  
Swallowing hard I figured this was the only way to break Itachi's hold on me.  
Not bothering to turn back to the horribly scene that lay out behind me I squeezed my eyes shut, took in a deep breath and jumped._

I managed to use my arms to slide myself away from the edge of the river, so I could rest against a tree.  
My leg left a trail of blood behind it.  
'What do I do?' I thought, too physically exhausted to speak anymore. 'What do I do?'  
Suddenly, my senses kicked in.  
I sat up a bit, focusing in on the surrounding forest. There were people nearby; Six of them to be exact. Their chakra patterns were strongly familiar to me, so familiar I started crying as soon as I sensed them. But they were still so far away, and I couldn't just yell 'Hey guys I'm over here!' that would attract some unwanted attention.

_ "Twinkle, twinkle little star, wasurete ita dake sa. Anata mo kagayaku ichibanboshi sa."  
_I found myself singing, as if my body and my lungs had an idea of their own.  
_"Don't disturb akecha dame da to, kokoro tozashite mo. Kokoro wo knock shiteru no wa hontou no jibun."_  
I could feel their chakra growing closer, as if they were headed in my direction.  
_"Watashi wa sugu soba de te wo nobashiteru kara nigirikaeshite ne tsuyoi chikara de."_  
I glanced down at my leg, there was no way it would ever heal properly now.  
_"Saa hoshii dake, hoshii dake te ni ireru koto ga dekiru yo. Nagare ni nore, nagare ni nore FLOW. Donna yume demo, donna yume demo maboroshi nanka janai n da._  
_Umaku, iku yo, kitto."_  
Their chakra was closer than ever, they must know where I am I'm sure of it.  
_"Tonde yukou, tonde yukou, oikaze ga fuite kita yo. Nagare ni nore, nagare ni nore Flow"_  
It was Gaara, Komachi, Naruto, Temari, Kankuro and Daisuke.  
_"Donna yami mo, donna yami mo hikari ga atte shiru mono sa. Umaku iku yo, umaku iku yo kitto."  
_They found me.

*the song Mayu sings is Eiko Shimamiya - FLOW


	35. Chapter 35: Medical Bills

***Dear Readers; I'd like to apologize for the late updates recently. I promise I'll try to make time to update more frequently.  
I'd like to thank NarutoLuver0002, Kiyomi Shizuru, Teehees, Chester-Grey, SoraLover987142, Koodori-Mayonaka-Hana10, Kardai, and all my anonymous guests for reading my story and giving me such great reviews.**

* * *

I barely remember the trip back to Sunagakure. The last thing I remember is being lifted into the air by something, and a seering pain that shot up through my leg and up my side causing a river of tears to burst. I felt as though my leg was on fire.  
When we got back to Sunagakure, Gaara rushed me straight to the emergency room. I was drifting in and out of consciousness the entire time, the most I remember is a lot of screaming, a lot of pain and the colour white.  
I must have blacked out for good sometime during surgery, because I suddenly found myself waking up. My eyes would not open no matter how much I tried to pry them apart. I must have strained every muscle in my face trying to open my eyes, but after several minutes I grew tired and gave up. Some people were talking in the room with me, and just now I decided to tune in and listen. I must have been drugged up pretty bad because I had no idea what they were saying. I knew they were speaking Japanese, but right now in my current state it sounded as foreign as Chinese.  
As hard as it was listening in on their conversation, I did catch some parts here and there, but not enough to piece together any sort of sentence that made sense.  
I could make out the words _difficult_, _painful_, _hard recovery_, _never_, _Akatsuki_, _rest_ and _ninja_. Whatever they were talking about, I was sure that I was the topic of their conversation.

I fell myself slipping out of consciousness once more, that or I was just falling asleep, but I could feel somebody holding my hand. Their hands felt just like ice, and it sent a chill up my arm causing me to shudder. They must have figured that I was cold because next thing I knew somebody had draped a blanket overtop of me, and gently tucked it around me as if I were made of glass and if they put too much pressure on me I would shatter into a million tiny shards.  
Judging by the smell of vanilla, it was most definitely Gaara. He was the only man that I knew who smelled that strongly of vanilla, and was very proud of it at that.  
I wanted him to know that I was awake, just unable to speak or open my eyes so I tried to wiggle my body around but when I tried to move, a sharp pain shot up from my leg into my stomach and I instantly felt nauseous. I must have twisted my face into a look of discomfort because Gaara began to gently stroke my hair.

"Are you awake?" I heard him ask, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are you in pain?"  
I tried to open my eyes, this time I managed to open them so I could just see a sliver of light before they clamped shut again. I tried again, this time I caught a blur of red and brown which I took to be Gaara.  
"You shouldn't push yourself." He said softly, kissing me on the forehead.  
Even though I knew he was right, I was stubbourn. Once again I forced my eyes apart, this time commanding every muscle in and around my eyes to make them stay open. It hurt at first, and honestly it somehow tired me out but after moving my eyes around, and getting adjusted to the light, I managed to keep them open.  
"My leg.." I managed to croak. My throat was so dry, it felt like I had swallowed a gallon of sand. Gaara let out a sight which was my first sign that things were going badly in my favour.  
"Well..." He began, gently sitting down on the edge of my bed. "The doctor managed to snap it back into place. And Tsunade had sent Ino and Shizune as well as a few other members of her Medical Ops to tend to your wounds, free of charge, however..."  
My heart sank.  
"This time.. you broke it worse than you did when you were a little girl. They said it might not heal properly."  
This time I let out a sigh. "I figured as much..." I said, trying to laugh. My rib cage felt like somebody had used it as a punching bag, so my laugh sounded more like "Ha haowwwwwch."  
Gaara was looking down at me, his eyes were filled with so much sadness, I almost felt like crying on his behalf.  
"Mayu I..." He trailed off, taking my hand in his and giving it a tight squeeze. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."  
"Gaara... stop it, you sound just like Naruto." I said. This was my attempt at a joke, to lighten the mood or to let him know I wasn't mad. It didn't work however. If anything, he just looked even more sad.  
I tried to sit up, my my arms were weak and stuck with a million IV tubes. I tried my best to ignore it and pull myself into a sitting position but Gaara put his hands on my shoulders and gently pushed me back down.  
"You need rest." He said, his voice was more demanding than ever.  
I growled. I didn't want to rest. But judging by the look on his face I knew Gaara wasn't gonna let me do anything BUT rest.

* * *

About a month has passed since then. My long road to recovery was more than painful, and my leg still isn't full healed. However, I was determined not to give in and go back to my old, weaker self. This time, I pushed myself to keep going.  
I was released from the hospital after two weeks of medical-ninja-treatment. At first, Gaara confined me to my bedroom but after much dramatic crying and pouting I managed to negotiate with him. I was now allowed to freely roam his mansion as long as he made sure I was kept in eye-sight of somebody or other, incase I fell or needed help doing something. Whenever Gaara was home, he never let me leave his sight unless I had to use the bathroom, that was the only time I was allowed to be in a room alone, without a babysitter. When Gaara was required to leave the mansion, he made sure Temari and\or Kankuro were home to keep an eye on me.  
Now what Gaara thought, was that they followed me around just as he did, however they did nothing of the sort. I begged them to let me be independant, and of course they were happy to oblige. They didn't want to smother me like Gaara insisted on doing, and they didn't really want to waist their days babysitting a 17 year old because their 18 year old brother told them to.  
A few weeks after roaming the mansion, I finally convinced Gaara to let me go outside into the village, and walk without the use of crutches. At first he tried to wage Shinobi War Five on me, but after much crying and begging he finally calmed down enough to let me have my freedom.  
Of course each step I take causes me loads of pain, and my very noticable limp is back, however I try not to let it bother me. Ten years ago I had the same problem, only not as bad, and instead of trying to strengthen my leg and keep going with my life, I let it beat me and decided to limp around like an idiot, relying on others to help me get around.  
I didn't wanna go through that again, especially not with Gaara.

Komachi is still the official ANBU captain until my full recovery, that is if I can recover fully this time.. The members of the ANBU Black Ops are consistently sending me get-well gifts such as flowers, chocolates, cards and bento boxes, and on top of all that my friends from Konoha are flooding my mailbox with letters and gifts. Hinata sent me a letter the other day, it was the first time I've heard from her since I left Konoha. She basically just told me that her and Neji were getting along better, and that Naruto had been talking to her more. I sent a reply urging her to make a move on him, but knowing her she'd faint just at the mere thought of it.  
It seems tension is thick in both Sunagakure and Konoha, because of the Sound Ninja and the Akatsuki. It seems the ninja from Otogakure and the Akatsuki have been waging miniature gang wars against one another, and some innocent shinobi who happen to be passing by are getting caught up in it. As a result, travel from nation to nation has been restricted to a minimum.  
Gaara's been pulling his hair out over this. He's going through a lot of stress right now; First I was kidnapped, now my medical expenses as well as my recovery are causing him a lot of problems. Now there's this feud between two of our greatest enemies happening right outside out borders!  
This whole thing is causing me to feel more helpless than ever. With my leg in this condition, there's no way I can assist anyone, and if the village should suddenly be under attack.. well, I don't even want to think about it! All I can really do is try my hardest to recover as quickly as possible.

* * *

Today, Gaara was away at a meeting, which he was very reluctant to go to at first seeing as he was terribly worried about me. After much persuading, promising and tactical force we had him set off with an army of bodyguards within a few days. He would be gone for almost a week, as the meeting was in Konoha with Tsunade herself, so I decided to stop by his office and snoop around for something to do. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't being nosey or anything I was simply trying to help him with any paperwork I could, so he didn't have such a big job to do when he returned home. That and I was also bored, and I sometimes clean things when I'm bored.  
When I opened the door to his office, the entire thing was in complete disarray! Papers were scattered all over the floor, none of his drawers were shut properly, he had left his window open and a gust of wind has blown sand all over everything.  
"Men..." I sneered, limping over to begin the clean-up. I began by closing the window, which was now blowing all his loose papers everywheres. Afterwards I sat down, which took almost ten minutes to do, and began to gather up and sort out the papers.  
"Let's see..." I hummed, scanning the chart I had in my hand. I wasn't going to read the whole thing, that would be rude of me. I would simply read the first few lines and then bunch like-papers together. "This is obviously a map of.. something Chinese that I can't read." I placed it to the side. "You're a medical bill." I set that in a different spot. I kept going like this for what felt like an hour, and after I had about 20 different piles of paper of various sizes, I decided it was time for a change in my job. My back was cramping up and my knee was beginning to hurt from sitting cross-legged for too long.  
It took me about ten more minutes to sit myself up, using Gaara's desk as support, and once I was standing upright I went on a quest for a broom. Of course, Gaara being Gaara he never needed a broom. He usually just willed the sand out the window and was always very neat, until recently. After a few minutes of searching with no prevail, I used his little intercom thingey and asked his secretary if she had one. Thankfully, she had her own broom and kindly let me use it. While sweeping sand, hair and other random debris I began to hum a tune that had been stuck in my head. I don't recall ever hearing this melody before, so I figured it was something my mind randomly conjured up. This tune had no words, I figured I should give it some.  
_"Mado ni afureru, mabushii asa ni. Yume no kazu dake otozureru, haru no hi. Fureau, nukumori ni tomadou watashi no mae ni. Chiisana, ashita he to tsudzuku doa hiraite. The moonlight furisosogu, soba de hohoemu anata wa. I prove love, yawaraka na kaze ni tsutsumarete yuku yo._

It was a soft, but catchy little song I had created. If my leg wasn't so tender and sore, I would have started dancing. After I was finished sweeping everything, and emptied the contents into Gaara's little garbage beside his desk, I had the sudden urge to organize his desk. Gaara had no organizational skills what-so-ever, even though he was the freaking Kazekage of Sunagakure! He just stuck things wherever they would fit and left them there, his desk was such a mess I was surprised he could even find a pen to write with let alone any important documents. While I was tidying things up, I began to sing some more.

_"Shiroi hanabira, yukkuri yurete. Nanigenaku sotto surechigau haru no hi.. Kasaneta, kuchibiru ni kanjiru kono yasashisa wo. Haruka na mirai he to tsudzuku, michi no kanata. The moonlight hanasanai koi ni ochiru shunkan wo, I prove love odayaka na ai ni afureta sekai he."  
**[Eiko Shimamiya - DREAMER]**_

While tidying up Gaara's desk, something written in big bold letters on the top of a sheet of loose paper caught my eye. It said the name "Mayu Nakamura" on it, my name! Now of course, most people would cover it up and hide it away to avoid temptation, but I was as curious as a cat who had just caught movement in a corner, and had to investigate. I slipped the piece of paper out from all the rest, and took a seat in Gaara's big comfy Kazekage chair. It turns out it wasn't just a single slip of paper, it was quite a few of them stapled together. The one on top said "Mayu Nakamura, Medical Records."  
I had just recently been released from the hospital, so of course those words shouldn't have made me suspicious. What did make me suspicious however, was how thick it was.  
"How could two weeks in a hospital with a broken leg produce this much paperwork..." I wondered out loud to myself. Taking in deep breath I decided I had no choice! I was curious as to what my medical records had in store for me. Not just their contents but the records themselves. Did the doctor perhaps make a note on how long my leg would take to heal, if it would heal at all? Was there something else Gaara wasn't telling me? There couldn't be! But there was only on way to find out...  
I flipped it open to the first date. It was one month ago exactly, and all it really said was "5000$ Paid to The Sunagakure Medical Ops for (3) surgeries, and (2) Medical Supplies - Paid in Full." Then on a seperate line. "1000$ PAid to The Konohagakure Medical Ops for Assistance With the Injured - Paid in Full."  
Gaara had said Tsunade sent her Medical Ops free of charge, but he must have sent them money anyways as a friendly gesture or a thank you. Gaara believed that when people do favours for free, you should always send them your thanks in whatever way you can.  
Now this had to be the worlds shabbiest reciept, but Sunagakure wasn't as advanced as Konoha was when it came to the medical field. This was the best we could produce. Thinking nothing of it I flipped over the page to view the next one, thinking it was simply just another document about last months trip to the hospital. But it wasn't. This time, it was dated to almost three years ago, and the reciept read. "12 569$ Paid to The Third Hokage of Konohagakure for (1) Optical Surgery - Paid in Full." and on a seperate line. "3000$ Paid to The Third Hokage of Konohagakure for (1) Fractured Bone Repair and (1) Physical Therapy - Paid in Full."  
The blood in my veins suddenly ran cold, as I recalled a certain conversation from three years ago.

_"An anonymous donor who wishes not to be named has generously donated quite a large sum of money to Lord Hokage on your behalf."_  
_"This, donor, said that the money is to only be used to hire a surgeon, more specifically Doctor Miyamoto from the Land of Waves, to perform reconstructive surgery on you to restore your eyesight and to test for any hope of fixing your game leg."_

"I.. I don't believe this..." I was in total shock. "Gaara... he.. he did this?"  
It didn't occur to me then, or at anytime that Gaara was the one to suddenly donate all that money to the Third Hokage to hire a surgeon to fix my eyesight and help me with my bad leg. How did I let this information slip past me all these years? And why didn't Gaara say anything?  
A waterfall of tears was streaming down my face at this time. I felt terribly guilty! Gaara spent so much money on me, and he was only 16 then, he wasn't even the Kazekage yet! Sure he was his son but still.. how could he afford such a thing?  
I decided the next four pages were none of my business and I shut the folder, tossing it onto Gaara's desk. I had a million questions flying around my head in which Gaara knew the answers to. When Gaara returned next week from his meeting, I would have to sit him down and ask him about all of this. First I would let him calm down and relax a bit first, but after...  
I wasn't sure if I was mad, sad, glad or confused, or maybe a mixture of all four, but I spent a long time sitting in Gaara's office staring at those papers on his desk. It wouldn't have surprised me if I burned a hole in them the way I looked at them for so long. Eventually Temari came looking for me and she helped me walk back to the mansion where she had some take-out food from the local Indian restaurant waiting for us. Of course I was interrogated by them, wondering why I was in Gaara's office alone for such a long time, but after I explained that I was organizing the chaoitic destruction he left behind in his office they didn't push the matter any farther.  
Even though the meal was delicious, and both Temari and Kankuro were telling me such wonderful stories about past ninja missions, my mind was elsewhere and even though I tried countless times to pull it back to reality, I was having a difficult time. I had questions, and I needed them answered now. Temari and Kankuro are Gaara's siblings and his closest friends, they should know the answer. The would know the answer..  
After several minutes of contemplating whether or not I should ask them about it, I made up my mind that I could contain myself no longer. Setting my chopsticks down on the table I took in a very deep, exaggerated breath, which seemed to have the correct affect of catching their attention.  
I had intended to take this whole thing slowly, and ease them into the conversation, but instead I found myself blurting out. "Why did Gaara pay for my eye surgery?"

Kankuro spit out his soda all over the floor while Temari began choking on her curried chicken.  
"How did you know?!" They both yelled in unison, after they were finished with their choking fits.


	36. Chapter 36: Anger, worries and smiles

I never realized how dull my life was without Gaara until he had left.  
He didn't leave for good, he was just away at a meeting.  
It was a meeting to discuss how "All the Kage's should join forces and save the world!" or something just as important.  
As important as this meeting was, I had really wished Gaara had called in sick or something.  
I missed him.

Temari and Kankuro wouldn't tell me anything about Gaara's role in paying for my surgeries. All they told me was "He'll tell you when he's ready," But I'm impatient and when I want to know something I want to know now!  
I tried to get Kankuro drunk and trick the information out of him but that didn't work out as I had hoped. As it turns out, Kankuro is an extremely emotional drunk and went from breaking things, to laughing over absolutely nothing, to crying over how everyone calls his war-paint "make-up, to picking fights with people we passed on the street.  
I had even tried getting the information out of Temari by bribing her with wonderful gifts, but all I really got out of her was "He did it because he cares."  
After a few days of that I grew tired of getting nowhere so I decided to preoccupy myself doing other things such as reading, or at least trying to.  
I was blind for most of my life up until now, and I started learning how to read as soon as my eye-sight cleared up, but I still wasn't the greatest at reading Kanji. To me, Kanji looked like nothing more than a bunch of gibberish.

Gaara had sent me a note a few hour ago telling me he was on his way back, and would be here in a few hours give or take.  
Part of me wanted to send an eagle with a note that said "Walk faster!" but I knew he would probably think the worst and hurry back in a panic thinking everybody was dead, so I decided against it.  
A few hours later I grew tired of waiting for Gaara to come home and after much begging, pleading and annoying I finally convinced Temari to let me go outside the village gates and play in the nearby forest.  
Yes, play.  
I like to play in forests is that so wrong?  
Temari said I was required to take somebody with me for protection, so I chose Komachi. Of course I had my kunai holster strapped to my left leg just incase, but she still claimed I needed a body guard.  
Today I was wearing a short white skirt with a short-sleeved sand coloured blouse overtop. It was a size too small and it refused to button up all the way no matter how many times I tried to force it overtop of my breasts, so after a long and painful hour of struggling with my clothing, I just put on a white laced tank top underneath to hide the super-cleavage that was popping out.  
I had the worlds cutest shoes on! They were just simple black, ballet flats but I still thought they were adorable. I would have looked amazing if it wasn't for the fact that my right leg was bandaged from ankle to thigh.  
Stupid childhood injuries, cliffs and Itachi..  
My hair was left down today. I had worn it tied up so often that I was starting to develop permanent pony tail head, so I decided to leave it down to breathe today.

* * *

Komachi and I were enjoying a peaceful walk through the forest. She had to walk slow so that I could keep up with all the limping I was doing, but she didn't seem to mind. She looked so content and happy as we walked through the forst, taking in all the scenery. It was as if she enjoyed taking her time.  
"What do you think will happen next?" She had asked me at one point. I wasn't exactly sure what she was asking me, so I told her that. "It's just... a whole bunch of weird stuff has been going on lately. And I can feel the tension in the air, especially when I'm around Gaara or the higher-ups." She paused. "I think something is going to happen..."  
I bit my lip. I had the same worries that she did, although I tried not to think about it. Even if something big did happen, I couldn't do anything about it in the condition I was in. We were having a great time so I tried to steer the subject to a more positive topic.  
"Don't worry about it." I said, swatting a leaf out of my face. "I'm sure that whatever happens we can take it."  
She shot a smile in my direction but said nothing more. I could tell she was deep in thought and wasn't as convinced as I had hoped, so to ease the tension a bit I decided to mess with her a bit.  
"So how's your relationship with Kankuro?" I asked her, teasingly hip-checking her. Her face turned the colour of Gaara's hair and she refused to look me in the eyes.  
"I-I-I don't know w-what you're talking about..." She stammered, trying to tuck invisible strands of hair behind her ear.  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" I said. "I heard he asked you out on a date, what'dya say huh? Tell me tell me!"  
Komachi still wouldn't look me in the eye, and she didn't even give me an answer!  
Kankuro and Komachi have been very close lately. I wasn't sure what she saw in him to even consider him date-worthy but she was convinced he was a wonderful and lovely human being.  
"Just wear protection okay." I said as seriously as I could, keeping my eyes on the path in front of us. If I looked over at her I would surely burst into a fit of laughter.  
"Hey what do-" She paused, as did I. We both stood perfectly still, listening carefully. We could hear nothing, not even our own breathing. There were no birds, they had stopped singing a long time ago, and even the sound of the wind blowing was pretty much inaudible.  
"There are people near by." Komachi said, tying her hair up in a ponytail. She only did this when she was about to fight someone. "Gaara's among them."  
I could feel my blood pressure rising, my heartbeat was racing way at a pace that wasn't normal. "And so is he." I said, taking off with a sprint.

I'm not gonna lie, my leg felt like it was on fire and running on it was most likely going to slow down the healing process.  
But It didn't matter to me.  
He was here, he was close. I haven't sensed his chakra in years, and I honestly hoped that I would never sense it again.  
Komachi was running behind me, at a normal human pace and not like a ninja at all. She didn't want to run too far ahead of me and leave me behind.  
As we were running, my mind was replaying the last time we spoke to one another as if it happened yesterday. Of course I couldn't see at the time so it had no visual, but my mind sure played one hell of an audio track!

_"You want to know what's wrong, Mayu?" He asked coldly. __"You are what's wrong. Itachi once told me that you were weak, he said you would only slow me down, and that you were just one big accident just waiting to happen. It turns out he was right. You are weak, and that's why I'm weak. I'm weak because I'm tied down to you, because I'm always chasing after you, pretending like I care. Well no more pretending. __Everything I said last night, it doesn't mean a thing. It was all lies, I wanted you to think nothing was wrong with me before I left so you wouldn't expect it, but now I realize It doesn't matter what you think. __You and I, we're done. I can't have you slowing me down anymore." _

It was weird thinking about him again after all these years. He hadn't crossed my mind in such long time that I had honestly forgotten he existed.  
Part of me wanted to know why he was here and what he wanted with Gaara, the other half wanted to rip his head off and make it watch as I killed the rest of him.  
After much running we came to a very steep hill. We couldn't see the top of the hill due to the angle it was sloped at, but I knew exactly who we would find at the top.  
I bit my lip as I started climbing, the pain in my leg was something wicked and it took all I had not to cry out in pain. The hill was very steep and each step caused me more pain than it should have, but I'm a stubborn woman and I refused to quit.  
About half way up Komachi offered to carry me the rest of the way but I refused, I didn't want him to see me looking so weak especially after I worked to hard to make myself stronger.  
After a few more painful minutes I at last reached the top of the hill.  
The sight waiting there for me made me feel sick to my stomach, so I strained all the muscles in my stomach holding it back.  
Of course Gaara was there, he was in his sexy ninja outfit, and sand was scattered everywheres as was blood, various weapons and exhausted bodies lying around here and there. They had obviously battled for some time before we showed up.  
He didn't notice me at first, nobody did. But as soon as Gaara sensed my presence and turned to look at me, so did everybody else.  
This was my first time seeing him in about, 13 years perhaps. His looks hadn't changed at all, but at the very same time they changed dramatically.  
His eyes were now blood-red, the colour of the sharingan, instead of being the blue colour I remember. His hair was still styled the same as it had been when we were children, only it was longer and all tangled as if he hadn't used a comb in years.  
When he saw me, his face went from incomprehensive to just plain shocked. After staring at me in disbelief for a few minutes, his face softened into a smile which made my nausea feel worse, and then twisted into a wicked smirk if I ever did see one.  
"Well if it isn't Mayu.." He said with a laugh. "My you've grown."  
"I see you're still as arrogant as ever." I said through clenched teeth. "Sasuke..."

Gaara was at my side within seconds.  
"Mayu why are yo-" He began but I cut him off.  
"I went for a walk. Sensed you, sensed him, so I came." I explained. I tied not to sound so pissed off when I spoke to Gaara but it was difficult to hide.  
Gaara's expression was something I hadn't seen in a while. Was he sad? remorseful? Or perhaps he was sick to his stomach?  
"I see you still have a bad leg." Sasuke yelled, his face wore an amused smirk. "It's a shame. I had heard you made it quite far after I left. Being able to see, becoming a ninja and even the ANBU Black Ops captain at that, and for what? To be brought back down by the same bad leg that made you weak all those years ago."  
I forced myself to unclench my teeth and calm down, for Gaara's sake. I could tell he was worried.  
My face softened. "I was doing fine, up until a month ago. I have your wonderful brother to thank for that." I spoke, making sure my tone expressed just how angry I was.  
Sasuke's face hardened at the mention of his brother. "So you've seen him have you?"  
I ignored his question, hoping he would get the hint and go away. Now that nobody was talking, I had a better look at the area.  
Sasuke wasn't alone. He had a few men with him, and they certainly were a creepy looking bunch. A few of Gaara's bodyguards were sprawled on the ground and they looked like they were sleeping.  
"What happened here?" I asked looking up at Gaara.  
Even though he wore a calm facial expression, I could tell he had a large variety of emotions bottled up inside him. "He attacked. My men tried to rush in and take him on but he knocked them all out with some sort of jutsu. Said he only wanted to fight me..."  
I nodded, taking his hand in mine. "We should go."  
Gaara looked over at me with wide eyes. "You mean.. leave?"  
I nodded once more. "Yeah? Why wouldnt' we?"  
"You mean you don't want to st-" Gaara was cut off my Sasuke.  
"So I see the rumours are true. After I left you with a broken heart you went crawling to the next best thing. How cute." He said, taking a few steps towards us. "It's a shame you're still not over me, Mayu."  
I felt Gaara tense up under my touch, and I'll admit he caught me off guard as well.  
"What are you talking about?" I spat, standing up straight.  
"My, how your hair has grown." He commented. "I always told you how much I liked your hair long... didn't I, Mayu?"  
A knot formed in my stomach when I realized what was going on. Gaara was worried about me being near Sasuke. The last time I was with him, I was his girlfriend and I had strong feelings for him and Sasuke knows all of this and was trying to pry us apart, to mess with our heads, to cause tension.  
"You said you would grow your hair out for me, I'm touched you've held onto the promise for so long." He said still wearing the smug expression.  
I really, truly had no feelings left for Sasuke, nothing but hatred anyways. The only person I loved now was Gaara, and I needed them both to see this.  
I didn't want to waste another second dwelling on the thought, so I reached into my kunai holster on my hip and bunched my hair up in a pony tail.  
Sasuke froze in his spot, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he realized what I was doing. Before he, or anybody else at that matter could react to it, the kunai in my hand sliced through my hair as if it were paper.

I heard Komachi gasp from behind me, as did Gaara. Sasuke's jaw dropped as if he couldn't believe what I had done.  
It's true, I loved my hair long. I loved playing with it, I loved styling it, I loved the way it swished behind my when I walked. But after the comment Sasuke made, I knew I could never wear it long without feeling guilt.  
The kunai fell to the ground with a clink, my fist full of hair hung at my side. I hadn't realized how much hair I had until I had it clenched in my fists.  
I held the hair out to show Sasuke.  
"I just severed my last tie to you." I said bitterly before opening my hand. The wind suddenly picked up, blowing my long, brown hair through the field and away into the woods.  
I could feel my freshly cut hair brushing against my neck. It no longer fell against my back, and it left me feeling strangely empty. This feeling was strange to me. It's been 15 years since I had short hair...

* * *

I'm not sure what happened next. I think Sasuke attacked, or at least tried to. Before he could get any closer all of Gaara's body guards suddenly sprang to life and tackled him to the ground.  
Gaara had scooped me up in his arms and took of with me towards Suna, Komachi directly behind us.  
When we had arrived home, we told the others what had happened while Temari evened out my hair with scissors. When she was finished, I had a sort of inverted-bob style.  
The back of my hair was short enough so that it didn't touch my back, but long enough so that it still covered my neck, while the front barely touched my shoulders. My hair was still parted to the left, with my bangs being no longer than my chin. As much as I missed my long hair, this new style didn't look too bad on me.  
After my hair cut, I went and took the worlds longest bath, making sure to soak my throbbing knee for an extra long time. When I was finished, I changed into a pair of Gaara's sweatpants and one of his shirts. I don't think he knew I stole them from his drawer while he was in the bath, and if he did I don't think he would have cared.

I had originally planned to go into my room and sulk over what had just happened, but when I opened my door Gaara was sitting on my bed, wearing nothing but the same pair of sweatpants I had on only black instead of grey. I decided to change my plans, not wanting to make him worry.  
"Oh.. hey." I said when I saw him there. He didn't say anything, he just looked up at me with a blank expression. "Is something the matter?" I asked him, coming over to sit beside him on the bed.  
When I sat down, he moved closer and took my hand in his. "I like your hair." He said.  
I smiled, running a hand through it. "It looks better longer, and I like it longer but I guess this will do for now." I said with a smile, brushing my bangs out of my face. "It'll take some getting used to that's all."  
Gaara stared down at me as if he were about to cry. "You like it long... but why did you cut it?" He said, brushing a strand of hair out of my face.  
I looked him right in the eyes so he would know I was serious. "Because I saw the way you were looking at me. And I saw the way you tensed up after he said what he said..." I said, my eyes still fixed on his. "I wanted to show you, and him, that I was no longer attached to him in any way. He had told me when we were younger that he liked my hair long, so I grew it out for him, but I kept it long because I liked it that way not because of him. The only way I could prove I wasn't keeping my hair long just to please him was to cut my hair.." I took a deep breath. "I just want you to know that I no longer have any feelings for that man."  
I leaned in and kissed him on the lips. It was a very short kiss but it was the first one I had in almost a week. "I love you and only you." I told him with a smile.  
His eyes lit up like a christmas tree when I said this. "I love you Mayu." He said, his face suddenly growing serious. "That's why we need to talk."  
I frowned. "Am I in trouble?" I asked half serious, half-joking. Gaara closed his eyes.  
"Mayu..." He began. "Listen.." I leaned closer to show I was listening. "I no longer want to be your boyfriend."

Well let me tell you my heart sank when he told me this and I felt as if he had punched in the stomach.  
"C..come again?" I squeaked, wanting to be sure if I heard him right. Theres' no way Gaara was breaking up with me, especially after he just told me he loved me.  
He let out a big sigh before continuing. "I no longer want to be your boyfriend." He repeated. "But..." He slid off the bed, onto the floor and kneeled directly in front of me. "I want to be your husband instead." He told me, sliding a small box no bigger than the palm of his hand out from under the bed.  
I could feel all the blood in my body rush to my feet, for some reason, and my heart began to do back flips, somersaults, hand stands you name it!  
He opened the box to reveal a pure gold ring with a diamond cut into the shape of a small rose in the middle.  
"I know you don't like fancy, showy jewelry so I-" I cut him off with a tackle.  
I must have started crying somewheres in the middle of all this because my face was suddenly very wet.  
"You couldn't have just asked the question like normal people do, you just had to scare me didn't you?!" I yelled. As much as I tried to look mad, I couldn't contain the large smile spread across my face.  
Gaara smiled up at me. "My apologies." He said wrapping his arms around my waist. "Mayu Nakamura, will you marry me?"  
I grabbed his face and pulled him into a very deep, passionate kiss, the best one I could manage.

Gaara and I made love for the first time that night, and it was the most wonderful, painful, and exciting experience of my life.  
Sometime during we had somehow ended up in his bed.  
I was so caught up in everything I had forgotten to give Gaara an official answer, so while we were laying there tangled up together under his sheets I leaned in and whispered. "Yes, I would love to marry you."  
Gaara's face lit up once more and he gave the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.  
It's been a while since I've been this happy.

* * *

***Sorry for the late-update. Nobody told me if they wanted a "Rated M" story or not so I decided not to put one in. The options still there for anyone who wants Mayu and Gaara to get kinky in detail x3 Just PM me folks.  
Anyways, review me please! I need to know your thoughts and ideas.  
Love you all!**


	37. Chapter 37: Matsuri Strikes Again Part 1

Most of the citizens of Suna were more than happy to congratulate Gaara and I on our engagement. They showered us with love, congratulations, and many of them even sent us gift baskets and home-baked goodies as gifts.  
But of course, not everybody was happy about us.  
Matsuri was beyond pissed. I swear, when I limped passed her on the streets she had steam coming out of her ears..  
"This is only going to cause trouble." I whispered to Komachi, who did nothing more than laugh. We all knew that once Matsuri had found out about her beloved Gaara being engaged to me, she would instantly begin cooking up some sort of evil plot.  
However she was completely bipolar about the matter.

It was about two weeks after everybody in both Suna and Konoha had heard of our engagement. When I was by myself and Matsuri crossed my path, she would stop dead in her tracks and shoot me glares so cold I could almost feel my blood freeze.  
However, when Gaara and I were together, she was all smiles. She would run up to me with a large grin on her face and go on and on about how happy she was for the two of us, or about how pretty I looked that day.  
I knew instantly that I should be on high-alert and suspicious of her sudden change in behaviour.

Sometimes I hate being right..

* * *

I was on my way to Gaara's office one afternoon, and I was in a pretty darn-good mood if I do say so myself. I was wearing a pretty pink sundress I had bought, and my short hair had a yellow headband in it. I felt like a little girl, dressed so colourful.  
"Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, back to my home, I dare not go." I was singing as I limped down the main street. Yeah I know, I'm singing a childrens song but owell, who cares, nothing can ruin my mood. "For if I do, my mother will say~"  
Up ahead I could see Matsuri coming down the stairs from the Kazekage's office.  
"-Did you ever see a whore, leaving the Kazekage's office, down by the bay.." I finished, not even caring that she had overheard me.  
She turned to look at me, a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face.  
"Why hello there Mayu." She said in a sing-song voice as she approached me. "You're in a good mood."  
"And you're making me suspicious." I said. "What are you up to?"  
I saw something glimmer in her eyes which told me I was correct, she was up to something.  
"Nothing." She said walking passed me. "Nothing at all..."  
My mood was still good, nothing could ruin my day.

"What was she doing here?" I asked upon entering his office. He was reading a newspaper at his desk, wearing nothing more than black slacks and a dark-purple button up shirt.  
"Hello to you too." He said with a smirk, folding up the newspaper. "You look beautiful today." He stood up from his desk and walked over to me.  
"You're not answering my question." I said.  
"She just wanted to talk, nothing more." He told me kissing me on the forehead.  
"Talk about what...?" I demanded. Gaara was the type to beat around the bush for as long as possible if it meant avoiding conflict. He was also smart enough to know that conflict was exactly what he was going to get if he didn't come out and tell me.  
"She apologized for the way she treated us. She said she was happy for us and invited us to her house next week for a party." He explained.  
I looked up at him. "And you told her no right?"  
Silently I began to pray to whatever god or gods out there that looked after rejecting invitations.  
"Well..." he began. I knew then that things were about to start spiraling out of control.  
Good mood gone. Bad mood...begin.

* * *

We had gotten in a huge fight about it that day, and we fought again the day after, and the day after that, and yeah you probably get the picture.  
It was now exactly one week after Gaara dropped that bit of news on me, and of course we were still fighting.  
He was convinced that Matsuri was a changed woman and was taking the mature-approach, while my mind, gut, heart, head, liver, kidneys, and every other part of my body was telling me that there was something going on in that twisted little head of hers.

It was almost lunch time, and Gaara was due at a meeting almost half an hour ago. But we started arguing over Matsuri once again causing him to be late.  
My left eye began to twitch rapidly. I was pretty sure Gaara could see the nerves in my eyes having a spazz attack.  
"No." I said calmly, slapping a hand over my eye to stop the twitching. All I did was hurt myself and cause my eye to water.  
"Mayu." Gaara said standing up. "You can not tell me what to do. I am the Kazekage."  
That was a line that I've heard seventy-two times in the past month. I started counting after hearing it for the fifteenth time.  
"Well I just did." I snapped, losing my patience with him.  
There was no way in hell I was ever letting my fiancée hang out with that slut, even if there were going to be a couple dozen more people in the room I still wasn't going to let it slide.  
No way.  
Now any normal guy would notice how upset I was and either A) sit and talk or B) understand and change his mind about going. But just my luck, Gaara wasn't normal.  
"I'm going and so are you." He said, buttoning up his shirt and heading for the door. "We are going to go act like a mature couple."  
"Mature? MATURE?!" I yelled, stamping my foot. "Matsuri is an evil skank who wants nothing more than to see our relationship fail so she can sink her teeth into you. You are not going and neither am I, we are not going! Do you hear me?"  
He turned to look at me with an icy glare on his face, one that I was definitely not accustomed to seeing anymore.  
"You can not tell me what to do, Mayu. Matsuri is putting differences aside and attempting to reconcile with us, I don't see why you can not grow up and forgive her?"  
I felt my stomach twist itself into a knot. A waterfall of tears was threatening to fall any minute now but I was determined to stay strong.  
"So what you're saying is... because she, the girl who has done nothing but try to sleep with you since the dawn of time, came to you and said _"Oh Gaara, I am like soo grown up now and I want to invite you and Mayu, the girl I've hated with a fiery passion until just a few seconds ago, to a party and stuff, I'm mature, forgive me!"_ you now think she's changed?" I spat, then an idea popped into my mind. "So you're saying that if Sasuke popped in here and said _"Mayu, I've changed, I'm not an asshole, forgive me and let's be friends."_ Then it would be alright for me agree with him and go simply because he claims to be a different person?"  
My plan was to use the good'ol guilty trip on him, however this plan apparently backfired on me.  
"How dare you..." He said. "I can't believe... Matsuri and Sasuke are two completely different people! How dare you bring him into this conversation."  
"There also the two people that we hate the most, incase you've forgotten, Gaara." I spat.  
"Mayu." Gaara said, his eyes narrowing. "I am the Kazekage. Therefore it is my duty to forgive my people and set aside differences. You are being very immature right now... We are going to this party and that is final. Now not another word."  
He turned his back to me and vanished in a swirl of sand leaving me standing in his room along with my thoughts.  
"Why is he suddenly being like this?" I asked myself as a single tear slid down my face.

I stayed like that until my legs went numb, forcing me to sit down on the floor. I had been crying ever since Gaara left, and my tears were just finally starting to dry leaving my face feeling rather disgusting..  
I wasn't entirely sure how long I stood there for, long enough for the sky to darken just a little bit.  
"I'm not going." I told myself, wiping my tears away with a dirty shirt laying on the floor beside me. "He can't make me."  
Then I remembered what he had said earlier.  
"Maybe if I don't go.. or get sick or something... he won't go?" I wondered. "Would that work?"  
It was a plan, maybe not a very good plan, but it was still a plan. I doubted that Gaara would go without me, he wasn't that type of person, and after all we were both invited to go together.  
Whatever the cost, I was detemined to prevent the both of us from going to that party, even if it killed me.  
"Bring it on Matsuri." I challenged.

* * *

***Dear Readers,  
Yes I understand that this chapter sucks however I'm in a rush and I really couldn't think of anthing else to add...  
This is going to be a multi-part chapter mind you, the next part will be published tomorrow or the next day.  
Sorry for the delay in updates, I've been super busy lately...  
PM me or leave reviews please!**


	38. Chapter 38: Matsuri Strikes Again Part 2

My plan was, to fake sick and guilt-trip Gaara into staying home from the party.  
As it turns out I didn't have to, I really did end up becoming sick.  
I wasn't sure how, maybe something I ate?  
Some to think of it, those cookies I found on the counter earlier did taste a little funky. Although I was the one who baked them so I doubt I tried to kill myself.  
The tea that Gaara had given to me had a strange smell, almost medicinal, and the taste was so strong and bitter I had to dump most of it out.  
But I doubt Gaara would try to kill me, would he?

"Ughhhgggrrrr" I groaned, trying my hardest to roll over in bed. It was difficult, my entire body ached and felt as if every single bone in my body were broken.  
I wasn't sure where Gaara was, probably in a meeting or something. Daisuke and Kankuro were having a "bro day" while Temari and Komachi were taking care of me, or at least trying to.  
Temari's cooking made me feel more sick than anything and was counter-acting Komachi's medical jutsu.  
"I wonder how she suddenly became sick.." Temari wondered, placing a hand on my forehead. It was burning up quite a lot, I could feel it without having to touch it. It was my forehead after all.  
"She has the chills... really bad, and at the same time she's over-heating. Her forehead's burning up, and she has extreme body aches. She was vomiting earlier but it seems to have calmed down for now. It sounds like the flu but the symptoms are much worse.." Komachi said, writing down things on a clipboard. "There's no reports of a flu or illness going around Suna, and I don't thinks this is food poisoning because she eats the same food that you and your siblings eat so if it was food poisoning, then you would have it too."  
Temari nodded, then turned to me. "Was there anything you ate that we didn't?"  
"Ugh..." I groaned. "Cookies..." I managed to squeak.  
"Anything else?" They asked me simultaneously.  
"Tea and...tea." I said trailing off. They both began to talk among themselves but I was too tired and in too much pain to hear anything that they were saying.  
Within a few minutes I managed to drift off to sleep, despite all the pain and misery I was in.

* * *

"...and she can't keep anything down..."  
Was the first thing I heard when I woke up. Usually I feel wonderful when I wake up, but today I felt a hundred times worse.  
"..don't know what... gonna have to look... later."  
"Ughh..." I groaned, rolling onto my stomach. It was a difficult struggle but I managed to pull myself up into the sitting position just in time to see the door close.  
"Who.." I squeaked. The sound of drawers shutting averted my attention to the dresser. Gaara was there, buttoning up a white dress shirt.  
"Hi." He said, walking over and kissing me on the forehead. "How are you feeling?"  
"Bad." I said, giving him a weak smile. We were still on edge with one another, not quite fighting but not quite made-up yet.  
"I'll be home later to take care of you." He told me, placing a hand on my forehead. "Try not to over exert yourself."  
He stood up and began to walk towards the door. I reached out and tried to grab onto his arm but he was too fast, so I ended up stumbling forward onto the floor. Quickly I pulled myself up, ignoring the protests from all the muscles, bones and joints in my body.  
"Where are you going?" I whispered, unable to speak loudly. My throat was killing me, and it felt as if it were swollen to the point of suffocating me.  
"Matsuri's party." Gaara stated as if I should have already known where he was going. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open.  
"Still? Gaara I'm sick I need you." I said, wrapping the blanket tighter around my body. "Stay with me..."  
He turned to look at me with a look of regret. "I made a promise to Matsuri." He said. "I can't break my promises, I'm the Kazekage I-"  
"And I'm your fiancée!" I yelled, my throat felt as if pieces of glass were lodged into the side. "You made a promise to me when you proposed to me, when you told me you loved me, when you asked me to be your girlfriend."  
Gaara's eyes studied my face. I haven't seen my face in the mirror in a few days but I was sure I looked hideous. My hair was probably sticking up like Sasuke's, my face was most definitely greasy and covered in gross shit, so he was most likely thinking about how ugly I was right now.  
"Mayu... look I'm sorry okay I just..." He trailed off, running a hand through his hand. "I have to go."  
"Wait a minute!" I yelled, taking a few steps forward. "You're telling me that you'd rather spend a few hours with a girl who's obviously obsessed with you.. than stay home with your sick fiancée?"  
He didn't reply.  
"Well fine.. Go ahead, go to her party, have a great time Gaara. And when you're done fucking her, don't bother coming back to me." I screamed, tossing my blanket on the ground. I didn't wait to see his reaction, if he even had one, I just turned on my heels, opened the window and took off outside into the cold desert air.

* * *

I ended up at Komachi's house, the only other place I had to go. I suppose I could always show up at Daisuke's house but it would be awkward, me spending the night there.  
Komachi took me to the bath house and helped me get washed, which wasn't as awkward as you would think, and lent me some of her clothes. Her breasts were a lot bigger than mine so her clothes were a size too big, but I didn't mind.  
Baggy clothes were awesome.  
"Want some tea?" She asked, rubbing my back while I dozed off on her couch.  
I shook my head no.  
"Want some soup?"  
I shook my head no again.  
"Well I'll just let you get some sleep then." She said, getting up from the couch and walking off into the kitchen. I laid there on her couch, enjoying the silence of her house. It wasn't loud like Gaara's, it wasn't hectic like Gaara's, and it certainly didn't smell like burnt food and mens cologne, like Gaara's did.  
I wonder how Gaara's doing now, is he enjoying the party?  
I began to picture in my mind, Gaara at Matsuri's party having a good time. Drinking punch with her, dancing with her, eating food with her, and then leaving the party with her.  
I saw them upstairs in her room, their lips growing closer together, her claws wrapped around his neck as she pulled him down onto the bed. The sounds that escape their lips as they become tangled up in the sheets together.  
The whole sight made me sick to my stomach and brought tears to my eyes, and just the knowledge that it could very well be happening right now made me feel even worse.

I'm pretty sure that I fell asleep on Komachi's couch with those images burned into my head.

* * *

**Nobody's Point of View**

Temari flew into Komachi's apartment like a maniac, her hair was half done-up in her usual pigtails while the rest stuck up in various directions. Her makeup was half on, smudged down her face and her clothes were in disarray.  
"What's going on?!" She asked trying to catch her breath. She didn't see anybody, but she could hear sobbing coming from the next room. Following the sounds of the crying she found herself in the livingroom.  
Komachi was kneeling on the floor in front of the couch, holding Mayu's hand. Mayu was laying on the couch covered in a blanket, her face was strangely paler than usual.  
"What's going on, Komachi?" She repeated, setting down the hairdryer she unknowingly brought from her own house.  
"It's Mayu..." She sobbed, tightening her grip on Mayu's hand. "She won't wake up."  
Temari felt her heart stop, and a huge knot formed in her stomach.  
"Wh-wh-what do you mean...?" She asked, terrified of what the answer might be.  
"She's not dead, and she's not in a coma. But she won't wake up... she's sleeping. I've tried everything! Yelling, shaking, cold water, I shoved her into the floor and tickled her, nothing! She won't wake up Temari, something's wrong..."  
The older sand sibling felt fear and panic build up inside her body. Her little brother's fiancee was in bad shape, and this all happened in a span or two short days.  
"We need to send her to Konoha." She said, choking back tears. "We can't do anything for her here.. our medical corps, we're just not that strong. We need the help of Tsunade and the others."  
Komachi nodded, wiping away tears with the back of her hands. "I was... I was thinking that... too.." She turned back to her sleeping friend, an instantly more tears began to form.  
"When do we leave?" Temari asked, rubbing a hand through the part of her hair that was left down. "I mean, you're the expert on this stuff..."  
"As soon as possible." Komachi said sadly, reaching up to brush stray hairs off of Mayu's face. "She needs help as soon as possible. I fear that this is more than just your common flu."

Meanwhile, at the same time on the other side of town, a girl with short cropped brown hair sat on the edge of her bed, her face burried in her hands.  
A knock came at the door. "Matsuri?" came a voice from the other side.  
"What do you want?!" She snapped. The voice ignored her obvious anger an came in anyways.  
"How did it go? Did your plan work?" She asked, sitting down beside her friend. "Did you get the Kazekage?"  
Matsuri began to laugh. "No it didn't work." she spat, briskly standing up and walking to the other side of the room. "He's too in-love with her to even look at me."  
"What happened lastnight?" Her friend wondered, following her friend to the other side of the room. She was either unaware of how angry she really was or she just didn't care.  
"Well." Matsuri began, glaring at her reflection in her mirror. "I gave him "tea" to give to his precious little fiancee, as a peace offering if you will, and it seems she didn't drink all of it."  
"You gave her tea as a peace offering?"  
"Yes, only it wasn't a peace offering and it wasn't tea. It was a very strong poisonous herb found outside of Suna. It looks like normal tea leaves, but if you look closely you can see tiny white dots- poisonous spores. It seems I've only made her sick."  
Now it was Matsuri's friends turn to laugh. "And.. you're mad because?"  
"Because she's not dead! And Gaara rejected me lastnight! When I kissed him he instantly pushed me away and said something about Mayu being right, he owes he an apology and that him and I can no longer be friends. This whole night was ruined!"  
Her friend placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, more happened than you think..."  
She whipped her head around. "What do you mean..."  
"Well." Her friend began. "Mayu is actually very ill. It seems she will not wake up and they are currently relocating her to Konoha for treatment."  
Matsuri felt a huge grin spread across her face. This news was wonderful news indeed, so what if Mayu wasn't dead, at least she was now in the process of dying.  
"We're moving to Konoha tomorrow, we're going to follow them and take them out while they travel." Her friend stated, rubbing her shoulders. "Don't worry, we won't hurt Gaara. That much, anyways. Our main target is Mayu, and once we're done taking out her and her friends the young Kazekage is all yours."  
"Why are you doing all this?" She wondered, turning to look up at her friend. She could see the murderous look in his eyes, but at the same time she could see regret and sadness.  
"You've been a very resourceful informant to the Sound Village." He told her. "It's the least we can do to... repay you."  
Matsuri nodded. "Right, I'll do my best."  
She turned to leave but paused mid-step. "Can I ask you something.. why do you want Mayu gone so badly?"  
Her friends eyes began to glitter bright red, this question obviously amused him. "Her and I have some history." He explained. "She's the one thing that's still getting in the way of my goal.. the one person that's stopping me from achieving greatest power."  
His rantings were confusing her, she had no idea what he was talking about. All she gathered from this was that he truly was insane.  
"I'm still in love with her." He stated, clenching his fists. "And until I eliminate her, my love for her will only continue to bring me down."  
"Wait... you're in love with Mayu?" Matsuri couldn't believe her ears. Sure she knew that both him and Mayu were from Konoha, but what she didn't know was their past together.  
"She was my first love." He said, remembering back to when she was still blind and always relied on him for anything and everything. "Now she's my greatest nuisance." He turned to Matsuri. "Do not repeat anything I have just told you, understood? This stays between us."  
She nodded. "Yes... Sasuke, I understand."

The Uchiha turned to look out the window, the sun was already beginning to set which means the Sand Siblings were on their way to Konoha with Mayu at this moment.  
"Maybe once I get rid of you once and for all..." he spoke out loud. "I can finally be at peace."

* * *

***Thought of this chapter while falling asleep last night. I might have cracked my writers block~ Review please I need to know what you do and don't like.  
****Also, I'm thinking about going through and re-writing\editing previous chapters. I'm only gonna spell check them and fix a few things so If I do give them a re-write, you won't miss much don't worry.**


	39. Please read

Hello readers.

I am writing this to tell you that I am re-writing my "Blinded" story. I have decided to COMPLETELY re-do it. I am not happy with it (It was my first story.. the quality is terrible.) And I want your opinions. Please message me and let me know what should be changed and what should stay the same.

I just hope you can forgive me for my long hiatus and stick with me.

I apologize in advance!

-Jiwon


	40. PLEASE READ 2

THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MY REVISED, REWRITTEN AND EDITED VERSION OF "BLINDED" IS UP!

IT'S IN MY STORIES UNDER "SIGHTLESS"

OR JUST PASTE THIS TO THE END OF THE FANFICTION LINK.

s/9135682/1/Sightless

THANKS SO MUCH, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!

-JIWON


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